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Cycle Sports > What is Cycle Sports

What is Cycle Sports?

Various ways to enjoy Cycle Sports

Cycle Sports, which involves competitions using bicycles, offers various events and ways to enjoy. Broadly categorized, there are competitions such as road racing, mountain biking, cyclocross, track racing, and BMX. Furthermore, within each category, road racing includes endurance races, sprint races, and hill climbs that are conducted solely on uphill courses. In mountain biking, events are further subdivided into cross-country and downhill, which is a significant characteristic. While it is not widely recognized as a major sport in Japan, it has established itself as a popular sport on par with soccer overseas, particularly in Europe.

When it comes to Cycle Sports, the highly recognized event in Japan is the "Tour de France" held in France. This traditional competition features various courses with a total distance of approximately 3000km and an elevation difference of over 2000m, where 21 teams, each consisting of 8 members, compete against each other. To put it in terms of Motorsports, this race holds a status equivalent to F1 and is recognized as one of the three major tours in the world, alongside Italy's "Giro d'Italia" and Spain's "Vuelta a España."

In addition, among the cycle sports held as competitions in Japan, the "Tour of Japan" is the most famous. It is held every May as a UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) sanctioned race and has established itself as a representative professional race in the Asia region. Furthermore, as an amateur festival, the "Shimano Road Race" held at SUZUKA CIRCUIT is recognized as one of the largest hobby races in the country.

However, the appeal of Cycle Sports is not limited to this. In contrast to competitive Cycle Sports, there are many events aimed at participation and enjoyment rather than competition. The "Cycle Enduro" held at Suzuka and Motegi is organized as a hobby race that allows not only sports-type racing bikes but also bicycles that are not suitable for competition, such as mama-chari and small-wheeled bikes. The charm of Cycle Sports lies in the variety of events prepared to match different ways of enjoyment.