Yinchuan Hosts Bicycle Carnival
On the morning of September 8, accompanied by the cool weather after rain, the opening ceremony of the 2013 Binhe New District Giant Cup Bicycle Carnival was held at the Yellow River Hengcheng Scenic Area. The organizers chose the Yellow River Hengcheng Scenic Area as the venue not only to allow cycling enthusiasts to enjoy the scenery of the Binhe New District along the route but also to build a bicycle culture and tourism industry brand, elevate the status of low-carbon tourism, and further promote the development of cycling culture and low-carbon tourism in Yinchuan.
This competition was organized by the Management Committee of Yinchuan Binhe New District and co-hosted by Yinchuan Television Station and the Yinchuan Bicycle Association. Based on the participants’ actual conditions, the organizing committee divided the teams into the following categories: Men’s Mountain Public A Group (18 km), Men’s Mountain Public B Group (18 km), Men’s Mountain Public C Group (18 km), Women’s Group (13.5 km), and the most competitive Men’s Open Invitational Group (31 km). A total of 383 people participated on the day, including not only local athletes from Ningxia but also riders from Jiangxi, Gansu, Shaanxi, and other regions. The atmosphere on-site was lively, with everyone fully enjoying the fun brought by cycling.
In the most competitive Men’s Open Invitational Group 31 km race, 55 participants came from Guangxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, and Ningxia. After seven laps of competition, three cyclists from Yinchuan swept the top three spots. Zhu Tianyun from the Yinchuan Lightning Bicycle Club won the championship with a time of 55 minutes, 1 second, and 18 milliseconds. Wang Haili from the Yinchuan Xixia Double Wheel Club secured the runner-up position with a margin of less than one second, while Zheng Xuedong from the Yinchuan Lightning Bicycle Club took third place.
As one of the event’s co-organizers, Ding Gaoqiang, Secretary-General of the Yinchuan Bicycle Sports Association, told reporters that in recent years, the achievements of Yinchuan in environmental protection and greening have been evident. Riding a bicycle under the sunshine has become an increasingly recognized form of exercise among the city's residents. Although the scale of this event is already quite large, Ding believes that Yinchuan needs higher-level competitions to further promote green cycling and make it accessible to more citizens.