The 70th edition of the Tour of Bulgaria will start on Saturday with 126 bicycle riders from 28 countries, the Bulgarian Cycling Federation (BFC) said at a press conference Wednesday. They will be divided into 21 teams, including 12 continental and three national.
Bulgaria will be represented by its national team as well as four club teams. Yordan Andreev, Gabriel Grozev and Preslav Balabanov will be part of the national team, while three other Bulgarians will ride for the French team Martic.
Traditionally, the tour will start with a prologue around St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in the center of the capital. It will be broadcast live on BNT 3.
"The profile of the race is such that in the first stage we can get a clear indication of who will be fighting for the final victory," said the Federation's President, Dragomir Kuzov.
BFC Vice-President Lyuboslav Venkov added that the 2020 winner Patrick Stoss from the Voster team will take part in the Tour as well. His Polish teammate Maciej Paterski, now 36, will be perhaps the biggest name in the race.
The total length of the 70th edition of the Tour of Bulgaria is almost 700 kilometres and the prize fund is around BGN 50,000. In total, the organization of the whole race will cost the Bulgarian Cycling Federation BGN 400,000.
Kuzov revealed that talks with the authorities are planned so that the organizers do not have to pay for the security of the route, as is the practice in Western Europe. This will significantly relieve the Tour's budget, as about half of it is for police costs.
"The Tour of Bulgaria is a very significant event", Kuzov stressed, adding that it is gratifying that recently "there has been a growing interest" in cycling.
/PP/
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