Sky To Sea Enduro Mountain Bike Race Completed

The Sky To Sea Enduro Mountain Bike Race, the first enduro mountain bike race in Turkey to descend from the snowy peak to the sea level, has been completed.

Kemer Governor Yücel Gemici, Kemer Mayor Necati Topaloğlu, Kemer Deputy Mayor Emin Gül, Olympos Teleferik General Manager Haydar Gümrükçü attended the start of the race, which was sponsored by Kemer Municipality and included in the activity calendar of the Turkish Cycling Federation.

The race started with Mayor Topaloğlu, Deputy Mayor Gül and General Manager of Olympos Cable Car Gümrükçü waving the checkered flag on Tahtalı Mountain at an altitude of 2 meters.

In the race, in which approximately 14 athletes, 150 of whom were foreigners, participated, the athletes pedaled on the 34-kilometer track.

In addition to the snowy mountain passes on the stage, the athletes descended to the sea level by crossing the cliffs of Mount Olympos, stream beds and difficult paths in the forest.

While the athletes jumping from the jumping ramp set up by the sea was the scene of colorful images, many domestic and foreign guests who came to watch the race took pictures with their mobile phones.

Surprise from foreign athletes

Some of the foreign athletes participating in the race, wearing Turkish shirts inside their t-shirts. Bayraklı He decided to compete with t-shirts.

District Governor Yücel Gemici and Mayor Topaloğlu took off their racing clothes and Bayraklı He congratulated and applauded the athletes who wanted to compete in T-shirts.

Grab your bike and come to Kemer

Kemer Mayor Necati Topaloğlu said in a statement that the Sky To Sea Enduro Mountain Bike Race started from the summit of Tahtalı Mountain and ended at sea level.

Explaining that the race is of great importance because it is the only race in the world that starts from a snowy summit and ends at sea level, Mayor Topaloğlu said, “At the end of the track, the athletes jumped into the sea with their bikes. It was a very good organization. There will be more to come after this. It will make a great contribution to Kemer in terms of promotion. We aim to make Kemer a cycling destination. After that there will be a road bike event. “We say grab your bike and come to Kemer”. I would like to thank those who contributed to the competition.” he said.

The youngest is 14, the oldest is 54 years old

Cevat Nejatkan, the youngest 14-year-old athlete who participated in the race from Manisa, said that he has been cycling since he was 4 years old and has been involved in enduro cycling for the last two years.

Explaining that he competed on a difficult mountain stage for the first time, Nejatkan said, “The snowy stage is challenging the tortoiseshell. Other athletes in the race are older than me, but maybe I can be 8th. It's hard to get on the podium, but I'll get out soon. I am also happy to be in Kemer.” said.

Selim Şenok, 54, the oldest athlete in the race, noted that he started cycling at the age of 41 and has been participating in races since the age of 44.

Noting that he is the age of the father of many athletes in the race, Şenok said, “Despite everything, I will be in a fierce fight. I have a crack in my toe, but my goal is to complete the race and see the podium first. I am competing in Kemer for the second time. I have participated in the Down Olympos Races before. It was one of the races that I really enjoyed. This track in Kemer is the next challenging track for the racers after the world's toughest track in Argentina. We will also go down this difficult track. I'm sure it will be a good race." he said.

Kemerli athlete Mustafa Arif Tunç stated that the race track was very beautiful and said that he had a hard time in the first place.

Stating that the third stage was a lot of fun, Tunç said, “The third stage was very rocky. It was a stage unique to Kemer. It was a good experience for us to compete with foreign athletes. Enduro mountain biking is a developing sport in Turkey. I think it will make a great contribution to Kemer and bicycle tourism. Thank you to those who contributed to the race.” he said.

After the race, the winners were given their awards at the ceremony held to the athletes.