Today, a cycling marathon started in Turkmenistan, timed to coincide with the World Bicycle Day celebrated on June 3.
Recall that the World Bicycle Day was established on the initiative of our country in April 2018 at the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly.
As part of its celebration, the State Committee for Physical Culture and Sports, together with the Cycling Federation of Turkmenistan, with the assistance of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of the country and local administrations, organized a number of events to promote cycling and promote a healthy lifestyle among the general population.
As previously reported, the day before, the Olympic Village of the capital hosted the Turkmenistan Track Cycling Championship, which gathered more than 50 young athletes born in 2006-2010 from Ashgabat and the velayats of the country.
And today, a cycling marathon started in the administrative center of Mary velayat, which for four days will follow a special 335 km route along the Mary-Tejen-Ashgabat high-speed highway, which is part of the 600 km Ashgabat-Turkmenabat autobahn under construction.
As is known, the first section of the high-speed highway - Ashgabat-Tejen was put into operation with the participation of the National Leader of the Turkmen people, the Hero Arkadag, on October 29, 2021. And the second section of the Ashgabat-Turkmenabat highway between Tejen and Mary was solemnly opened on April 17, 2024 by President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and was awarded five international certificates confirming the high safety of the route and the use of innovative high technologies during its construction.
This international-level road consists of 6 lanes of traffic and technically meets world standards. Its infrastructure provides for several traffic police posts equipped with surveillance cameras, maintenance points and road service services. Along the entire length of the route, there are special telephone communication points connected to the control center for emergency calls and assistance.
And today, the participants of the cycling marathon - more than 50 athletes from Ashgabat and the velayats of the country, who are accompanied along the entire route by 8 coaches and 3 bicycle mechanics from the Cycling Federation of Turkmenistan - tested the high-speed highway with all its comforts.
On the day of its start, the cyclists covered the first stage from Mary to Tejen with a length of 131 km. On June 1, they will have to travel 104 km to the «Karavanseray» shopping and entertainment center located along this road, on June 2 - 75 km to the sports school of Ak Bugday etrap of the city of Anev. On the final day of the cycling marathon, the athletes will ride 25 km to the Bicycle Monument, where they will join the participants of the mass cycling event, which, according to tradition, will take place on June 3 - on World Bicycle Day.
