The Taipei RTS Continental Team has established notable visibility in Asia. During the 2010 and 2011 seasons, the team achieved third place in the Asian Cycling Tour. It has previously shone in the Tour of Qinghai Lake, earning various accolades. This time, they will tackle the world’s highest-altitude road cycling event — the Tour of Qinghai Lake International Road Cycling Race.
The 2013 Tour of Qinghai Lake race will feature three major highlights:
Building on the previous edition, the 2013 race will further advance in the directions of “internationalization, professionalism, and marketization,” showcasing three key highlights:
Highlight 1: Spanning the capitals of three provinces (regions), expanding influence. This edition will continue to be jointly organized by Qinghai, Gansu, and Ningxia, with a slightly adjusted route that extends to Yinchuan, the capital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. For the first time, the race will connect the capitals of all three provinces (regions), further amplifying its impact.
Highlight 2: Race distance exceeds 2,000 km, with highest altitude at 4,120 meters. While maintaining high-altitude characteristics, this edition has been fine-tuned to better highlight the unique cultural landscapes and geographical features of the three provinces (regions). These include diverse natural sceneries such as grasslands, snow-capped peaks, deserts, mountains, and Gobi deserts, as well as a rich variety of ethnic and historical cultures. This year’s race will feature two Category 1 climbs at an altitude of 4,120 meters, three stages exceeding 200 kilometers in length, and an average stage distance of over 150 kilometers. These figures illustrate the increased difficulty of the 12th Tour of Qinghai Lake, marking a new challenge for the race.
Highlight 3: Increased total prize purse, maintaining top spot among similar events. To attract high-level teams, and in consideration of prize structures in other Asian races, the organizing committee has raised the total prize money from USD 600,000 to USD 700,000, continuing to secure the title of the highest total prize among races in Asia.