Estonia Gears up for the Tartu Cycling Rally
Text Stewart Johnson Photo Kiur Kaasik
No summer in Estonia is allowed to begin without the annual Tartu Cycling Rally. Thousands of cyclists will take to the streets and highways of Southern Estonia. There are multiple events, and the main event is on Sunday, 1 June.
The event is part of the UCI Gran Fondo series, and the start and finish lines are in downtown Tartu. People from around the globe descend upon Estonia’s capital city in the south to qualify for the amateur world championships. If you just want to watch, you can find any number of places along the route (you can view it here), or you can perch your whole family atop the hillsides of Turu Street. This is also where the official awards ceremony will be located.
The kids’ races will be the day before, on Saturday, 31 May. There will be three courses of 500 meters, 1 kilometer, and a 5K race. The main events on Sunday will feature courses of 26, 64, and 131 kilometers. There are various starting locations depending on which of the many events you choose to participate in.
If you are not in Estonia, you still won’t be left out of the race, because of course Estonia has figured out a way to participate in a virtual race! You can officially register online, and choose your own distance and course right where you live. (It would not be advisable to wear a VR headset while you do this…it’s not that sort of virtual event. Normal helmets are recommended.)
The official site for the Tartu Cycling Rally is here. Enjoy the race, and if you’re driving in the countryside where the route is, please respect the cyclers. They’re fast, and won’t block traffic for too long.
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