600 riders from 24 different countries have signed up for the time trial and Friday and the granfondo on Sunday. The time trial course is a 20km back and forth loop along the river in Kadriye, totally flat and straight out for strong riders on a traffic free course.
On Sunday, riders have the option between a new short 67km course and a new longer 100km course. Both races start in front of the Nirvana Cosmopolitan hotel to make a loop along the beach before going into the backcountry, but the race is mainly flat with only 410m of elevation on the long course and 180m on the short course. The final sprint is back in front of the hotel, the main partner of the event.
Amongst the 24 different nationalities at the start, we see riders from Germany, UK, Poland, Russia, Norway, Egypt, Ukraine, Sweden, Moldova, Denmark, Belgium, Kazakhstan, Australia, Serbia, Jordan, Portugal, Tajikistan, Slovakia, Finland, The Netherlands, Canada, Estonia and Iran next to a big group from the home country.