Alanya Cup Cycling Race: Glory Team's First Victory in History!

On March 4th, at the Alanya Cup Cycling Race (UCI 1.2), Team Glory won its first UCI race victory since its establishment, thanks to South African rider Willie Smit's solo attack in the last moments of the race! In this race, Chinese rider Xu Changquan actively broke away, while Lv Xianjing and Teng Geng entered the top ten, and the team earned a total of 13 UCI points.

The Alanya Cup is the last event of the Turkish Winter Series this year. The previous races, the Tour of Antalya (UCI 2.1) and the Cappadocia Stage Race (UCI 1.2), were canceled due to the earthquake in Turkey. This race was able to proceed as scheduled thanks to the efforts of the organizers. The race started and finished in the city of Alanya, where Team Glory is based. The race route is also one of the team's daily training routes, and the riders are familiar with the terrain. The 127-km race had a difficult section in the middle, with short climbs and turns, and the wind from the Mediterranean coast also had some impact on the race.

Before the race, mechanic Vlad carefully tuned the team's bikes. In this coastal road chase, the equipment's aerodynamic coefficient was very important.

Team Glory sent a 7-man squad consisting of Teng Geng, Xu Changquan, Liu Jiankun, Shen Yutao, Lv Xianjing, Willie Smit, and Sun Changsheng. Among them, Teng Geng and Liu Jiankun had just returned from the Tour of Rwanda, and although they were tired, they found the rhythm of the race.

As the temperature gradually rose in the sunny Alanya harbor, the small city was about to welcome bustling tourists.

The race started at 10 am. In the early stages of the race, Xu Changquan actively tried to attack and successfully entered a 3-man breakaway group. This attack proved to be the foundation of the team's good performance.

The riders traveled along the Mediterranean coast of Alanya, enjoying the beautiful scenery.

There was fierce competition for position in the main group, and Uzbekistan team and local Spor Toto team collided, affecting sprinter Ahmet Orken's ability to continue the race.

China's red jersey in the main group.

Lv Xianjing provided supplies for his teammates.

Xu Changquan actively cooperated in the 3-man breakaway group, widening the time gap to nearly 3 minutes. Local teams such as Beykoz and Konya were forced to take on the chasing task, consuming a lot of energy. Xu Changquan returned to the main group in the last climb and turn, and finally finished the race smoothly.

Shen Yutao participated in the attack and defense. Several teams that took on more chasing work today disintegrated in the last lap, splitting the group into two parts, with most of the Glory riders in the leading part.

After the test of the hills in Rwanda, Teng Geng felt more confident in this race.

In the final stage, the riders in the leading group frequently pulled each other, causing another split; Team Glory occupied three seats in the leading group of 10 riders. When the opponent's skills were on cooldown, Willie Schmidt launched a critical solo attack and ultimately crossed the finish line first! Although the Alania Cup competition was not of high level, Willie's victory was quite significant - it was the first victory for the China Glory Intercontinental team since its establishment!

Lv Xianjing and Teng Geng crossed the finish line in 6th and 8th place respectively, both making it into the top ten.

The result of the competition could not have been achieved without the concerted efforts of the team members, and this victory greatly enhanced the team's cohesion.

Schmidt stood on the highest podium of the competition.

The Team Glory completed the race with all members finishing, and 3 of them entered the top ten of the competition. Lv Xianjing and Teng Geng together earned 13 valuable UCI points for China. We hope that the team members will continue to work hard in the upcoming competitions and contribute to the Olympic dream.