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2012 Tour de Langkawi | team presentation
It’s the day prior to Stage One of the Tour de Langkawi and the media is captivated by the teams presentation – literally, we’re captivated. We’ve been driven half an hour from our hotel, dropped at the roadside and will remain here until the sponsors get their worth of coverage. Fortunately, I couldn’t be happier.
Featured articles this week
Last week, 26 of Asia’s 40 National Cycling Federations gathered in Putrajaya, Malaysia to compete across track and road cycling disciplines at the 2012 Asian Cycling Championships. Today, the Elite Men’s road race, closed the 11 day program.
Amidst the fuss over the UCI’s seemingly monopolistic pursuit of WorldTour event ownership in China, via UCI subsidiary Global Cycling Promotion (GCP), hardly a word has been spoken about near-neighbour India. However, there have been some interesting developments behind the scenes of the ‘Tour de India’, scheduled for March 2012.
While cycling fans have been (understandably) absorbed by the 2012 professional road cycling season – with recent racing in France, Qatar, Italy and Oman – the 32nd Asian Cycling Championships & 19th Junior Asian Cycling Championships have been taking place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Who really makes your bike? It is a simple enough question. Country of origin has traditionally been a touchy subject for brands that rely on Asia-based ‘manufacturing partners’, let alone revealing who the partners are. Discovering the factory behind the brand is a stubbornly topical pastime amongst bicycle consumers. What’s all the fuss about?
When I woke up to a UCI Press Release titled “Professional Cycling Council meeting – The Licence Commission to rule on Saxo Bank-Sungard team” this morning, I almost didn’t open it. Little did I know almost half the press release related to a new UCI WorldTour stage race in China. Huh?
In 2005, the UCI introduced major reforms to disrupt the Euro-centricity of professional cycling and promote the sport’s “globalisation”. Tomorrow, the 2.HC-ranked Tour of Qatar will initiate the 8th UCI Asia Tour season. Cycling iQ investigates the reform’s outcomes in the Middle East and asks a former UCI administrator for his take.
In an effort to curb the rising costs of doing business on the mainland, Advanced International Multitech Co Ltd (AIM), a publicly-listed OEM to some of the world’s most evocative bicycle and golfing brands, intends to migrate Chinese production lines back into its Taiwan operations.
Country of registration – and even sponsor origin – is only a base indicator of professional cycling’s national roots. The regional creep of cycling’s popularity is globalising the professional peloton, especially at the UCI Continental level. Cycling iQ looks at the national makeup of each UCI division for the 2012 season.
