Tour of Istanbul embarks on four-day journey

The second edition of the Tour of Istanbul, a bicycle race organization held by Istanbul Municipality's Spor Istanbul initiative, has kicked off in Istanbul on Sept. 12 and will commence until Sept. 15.

Participating athletes started their four-day journey from a public garden in Çatalca at 10:30 a.m.

Following three days of touring outlying areas of Istanbul, the cyclists will head toward the vibrant districts of the city on Sept. 15.

After the first day concludes on the west side of the European side, the competitors will proceed to the east of the Anatolian side for the second day.

The racecourse will begin from Şile Port at 11:00 a.m. on Sept 13 with the athletes pedaling in the direction of Ağva. Ending at the starting point at approximately 2:30 p.m., the cyclists will travel along roads familiar to bicycle enthusiasts in Teke and Darlık.

Day three will see the track move a bit closer to the Bosphorus, this time on the Anatolian side as well.

On the last day, the competitors will cycle their way along the Golden Horn and cross the Galata Bridge after beginning the race at Yenikapı. After navigating the Eurasia Tunnel, competitors will again reach the Yenikapı event site, where the start and finish lines are both marked, at roughly 12:50 p.m.

This year's Tour of Istanbul will operate at a higher status, specifically at the 2.1 level, after debuting at the 2.2 level previous year.

Three Turkish teams will compete in the competition, which feature a total of 154 participants from 22 teams representing 15 different nations.