Cyprus Sunshine Cup

1. History of the Races

Cyprus Sunshine Cup is one of the most famous Mountainbike Series in the UCI Calender. It takes place every year in the early season. Cyprus Sunshine Cup races are been organized since many years in the past, with the first race taking place in 1997. The races were under different names and were not in a form of Series. Since 2006 the races were renamed to “Cyprus Sunshine Cup” which is an official series in the UCI calendar.

The first race of Cyprus Sunshine Cup is in mid-February and for few years now is taking place in the Area of Larnaca, in Voroklini Village and is of Class 1 in the UCI Calendar. Second race in the series is the “Afxentia Stage race” which has been organized for the past 16 years as a UCI Race, which makes it one of the oldest, if not the oldest existing stage race in Europe. It is organized in honor of the National hero Grigoris Afxentiou who died in the area of Macheras Forest in 1957, during the fight for freedom in 1955-1959. “Afxentia” is a Hors Class Race in the UCI calendar, which gives a big amount of UCI points and prize money to the participants. The final race in Cyprus Sunshine Cup is taking place on the first weekend in March. The race venue is next to the Archeological site of Ancient Amathous, next to the city of Limassol (Lemesos).

The number of participants in Cyprus Sunshine Cup is steadily increasing from the first days that it was organized and in 2011 more than 100 Elite riders from 31 countries all over the world stood on the start line!

Many well known riders have take part in the past in these races including World Champion in 2011 Jaroslav Kulhavy, Mountainbike legend Bart Brentjens, Marathon World Champion 2010 Alban Lakata, Adam Craig, Maarten Tjallingii, Horgan- Kobelsky Jeremy, Frederik Kessiakof, Oli Beckingsale, Al Thijs, Marc Hanish, Lene Byberg, Annika Langvad,  Olympic Champion in 2008 Sabine Spitz, Irina Kalantieva, Irmiger Heather, Petra Henzi and many more.

 

2. General Info-About Cyprus

On Cyprus racing specialists, touring cyclists and mountain bikers will all find just the right exciting challenges in a Mediterranean climate with a delightful combination of sea, beaches and mountains

The island which is located on the eastern end of the Mediterranean sea, has perfect weather for cycling, especially in the months between October and April, when temperatures range between 15°C and 25°C, while annual rainfall is also quite low in comparison to European countries. What’s more, unlike other European or Mediterranean countries, the strong headwinds that are a bane to cyclists, here are rare.

But what makes Cyprus stand out as a heaven for cyclists is its compactness. It is like a whole continent condensed into a small island. The third largest island of the Mediterranean, Cyprus combines attractive beaches with pine-clad peaks, busy modern Europeanised towns and tranquil old stone villages, vineyards and olive groves and ancient ruins. The short distances mean that there are rapid changes of terrain entailing a variety of different road surfaces over short distances.

Within the space of 10 km you can go from rocky to clay, and steep to flat, enabling you to experience all surfaces within a short period of time, and making the island into one huge mountain bike arena. Bikers can hone their skills on the unique trails of the mountains of Troodos and Machairas or in the Akamas peninsula, riding steep slopes that have been ridden and tested by many world champions. Quiet rural roads, with excellent quality tarmac, well signposted and with limited car traffic add to the attraction.

In addition there are no legal barriers to cycling anywhere on the island except of course on motorways.

 

3. Rules & dates

The Cyprus Sunshine Cup 2012 races are organized under the rules of UCI and the Cyprus Cycling Federation and the specific rules mentioned in this guide.

The race calendar for 2012 is

• 19/2 Cyprus Sunshine Cup #1 – XCO, Voroklini, Larnaca , Class 1
• 24-26/2 Cyprus Sunshine Cup #2 – AFXENTIA Stage Race, Macheras Forest –SHC
• 4/3 Cyprus Sunshine Cup #3 – Amathous, Agios Tychon, Class 1

 

4. Categories:

For the UCI races only the following categories are allowed:

Women and Men Elite: aged 19+ (born before 1994)

 

Other Categories in the races:

• Junior Men & Junior Women
• U15 Boys and Girls, U17 Boys and Girls
• Masters 1 (31+), Masters 2 (41+),
• “Cycling for alL” Categories
• Kids Competitions U14

 

5. Inscriptions

The participants can register using the following ways:

-Online on our website www.cyclingcy.com

or Email us on info@mtbcyprus.com

Online inscription closes 2days prior the race day of each race.

Late registrations will have a penalty of +5 euro on the initial fee

 

6. Registrations

Registration of the riders (with distribution of Race number plates and timing chips) can be done only at the Registration office during the office working hours:

The day prior to the race from 10:00 – 13:00 and 13:30 – 16:00. For “Afxentia” the race office will be open 2 days prior the race.

After online registration closes, each new registration is considered late registration and has a penalty of +5 euro on the initial fee.

On the spot Registrations closes 2 hours before the Team Managers meeting.

 

UCI License is kept and returned with the return of the number + chip.

Please note that training will not be authorized without a number plate

Riders who don’t return the timing chip after the event will be charged 80 Euro for replacement.

Registration fee: 30 euro for the one day races (CSC #1 and CSC#3) and 90 euro per rider for the stage race

Participants in non – UCI races and “Cycling for all” category pay 20 euro

Late registrations will have a penalty of +5 euro on the initial fee

 

7. Press

A press office is located near each race venue. The press office will be fully equipped for online communication. Please all interested media to contact the Organizers of the Events for any information and other arrangements.

Press coverage

The races are covered by the Organizers’ Permanent Press officer for all international media in 3 different languages (English, German & Greek). Many other journalists and photographers are invited every year to cover the event for the media in several countries.

TV coverage

The organizers every year are negotiating the rights of TV broadcasting with the local TV channels. The events are covered with three or more TV cameras and is broadcasted in Cyprus. The final race in Amathous is broadcasted live on the satellite and is free to download to all interested parties.

Any interested TV channels to receive the races images please contact the organizers for more information.

 

8. Accommodation

Every year the Organizer in cooperation with the Accommodation Partner offer very low prices for the participants of Cyprus Sunshine Cup. Please check our website www.cyclingcy.com for more details on prices and location of the accommodation.

For bookings please visit http://www.directcyprus.com/

9. How to arrive in Cyprus

Where to land – Airports in Cyprus

The legal ports of entry into the Republic of Cyprus are the airports of Larnaka (Larnaca) and Pafos (Paphos) which are situated in the area under the effective control of the Government of the Republic of Cyprus. Entry into the territory of the Republic of Cyprus via any other port or airport in which the Government of the Republic does not exercise effective control (Turkish occupied areas) is illegal.

All participants of the “Cyprus Sunshine Cup 2012” can benefit from their participation in the events! Contact the organizer ( info@mtbcyprus.com) to be informed of discounts offered by our Official Carrier Cyprus Airways and of any arrangements made regarding the transportation of bicycles and sporting equipment.

Better plan your trip by checking the Flight Schedules & Timetables of Cyprus Airways at www.cyprusairways.com

10. Team Space booking

The Organizer will provide upon request a Tent (3x3m or 3x6m) for a small fee. All requests for tent bookings must be finalized until the 15^th February 2012

 

11. Accommodation and other services for Training Camps.

“Bikers’ Village” in Limassol

As Cyprus is becoming a gathering place for many bikers at the beginning of the year, we are continuing in 2012 what we first launched in 2010, the “Bikers’ Village” concept in the area of Limassol. Limassol is an ideal destination for the participants to stay and combine their racing with a training camp. We have organized it in such a way that all of the riders will have the concentration they need for their training on the one hand, but also fun and joy on the other hand during their stay and train in Cyprus. For sure will be no problem to find a training group or company during your stay here. Most of the riders will be in located in the “village”, so will be easy to organize training meetings or even coffee meetings while not on the bike!

Bikers Village will also include:

• Organized “Bike service center” in the central hotel
• Free Internet wi-fi connection to most of the Hotels,
• Bike rooms in the hotels
• “Start of the Season Party”

Discounts in many restaurants cafeterias and pubs in the “Village”

 

12. Car rental

As in the past three years, in 2012 we are teaming up once again with Astra, the largest car rental company in Cyprus, to offer the participants of the Cyprus Sunshine Cup series the best car rental options.

Together with ASTRA we offer to the participants of the Cyprus Sunshine Cup series the best car rental options in competitive prices. For more info please visit www.cyclingcy.com

13. Contact Information

If you need further information about the Cyprus Sunshine Cup 2012 #2 – Afxentia 2012 stage race please contact the Organizers:

 

BikinCyprus Events Management

Thermopylon 20, Apt 7,

2007, Nicosia

Cyprus

T: +35799694900

info@mtbcyprus.com

www.cyclingcy.com