CENTRAL SULAWESI GEARS UP FOR SECOND TOUR DE CELEBES by Fardah

Jakarta, Aug 14, 2018 (Antara) - Central Sulawesi is gearing up for the Second Tour de Celebes (TdCC), an annual international cycling race and tourism promotion, following its success in organizing the first one last year.

         The Central Sulawesi government showcases nature sceneries, unique culture and traditions, and hospitality during the sports tourism event in which foreign and domestic cyclists participate.

         The three major events of the TdCC 2018, Wonderful Palu Nomoni Festival, and Wonderful Lipuku Festival, planned by Central Sulawesi from September until November this year, were officially launched by Tourism Minister Arif Yahya in Jakarta on July 17, 2018, in the presence of Central Sulawesi Governor Longki Djanggola and Palu Mayor Hidayat. 
    The third Wonderful Palu Nomoni Festival will be held by the Palu administration from September 28 to October 3, 2018, while the Tojo Unauna District will organize the second Wonderful Lipuku Festival on November 2-6, 2018.

         In fact, the Central Sulawesi provincial government has planned 32 sports tourism, cultural, and art events, comprising 26 local and national-scale as well as six regional and international-scale, in 2018.

         The Wonderful Palu Nomoni Festival and Wonderful Lipuku Festival are considered to be national-scale events.

         One of the six international events is the TdCC that will be organized on Oct 14-18 and at least five domestic cycling clubs and 16 foreign cycling clubs from 16 countries are expected to participate.  

    The foreign teams include those from Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, France, China, the Netherlands, Germany, Bahrain, Spain, Iran, Russia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and Australia.

         The TdCC will cover a total distance of 748 kilometers and will be divided into five stages.

         There will nine king of mountain (KOM) points and 20 sprint points, which means 60 percent of the route will be flat, and the rest climbing.

         The organizing committee has decided to extend the route from 740 kilometers (km) to 748 km following a change in the Parigi-Sigi stage.

         "In this fourth stage, the finish line will be moved from Bora circle to the old district office in Biromaru town due to security reasons and expected crowd," Dr Hasan stated in Palu on Aug 11.

         A circle is not safe for races competing to reach the finish line. Hence, the finish line was moved from Bora to Biromaru, he remarked.

         The route comprises five stages: stage I: Luwuk-Ampana covering 133 km; stage II: Ampana-Poso, 163.1 km; stage III: Tentena (Poso)-Parigi, 204.5 km; stage IV: Parigi-Sigi, 119.7 km; and stage V: Watatu (Donggala)-Palu City, 127.7 km.

         Earlier this year, Governor Djanggola was in Jakarta to forge cooperation with MarkPlus promotion institute. The governor met with MarkPlus Chairman Hermawan Kartajaya and urged the firm to help promote TdCC 2018.

         As the TdCC race has been listed in UCI's calendar of events, in addition to bonuses from the organizing committee, the participants of TdCC 2018 will also receive UCI's points for the world's cyclist ranking.

         "Alhamdulillah (Thank God), in July 2018, we have received the UCI certificate officially listing the TdCC 2018 in the UCI Race Calendar," TdCC 2018 Race Director Hasan stated recently.

         "Hence, many international cyclists, with a high score in the UCI point system, are interested in participating in the TdCC 2018, as this event could be used to accumulate more points," he added.

         The organizing committee will offer total prizes worth Rp1.2 billion this year, double from those last year.

         UCI will send its observers to monitor the race and will be involved in the judging process. Moreover, the organizing committee will conduct its second survey on the route to check the road conditions and determine points for sprint and king of mountain in each section.

         The cycling race will tour seven districts and cities, with the start from Luwuk in Banggai District, and finish line in Palu, the province's capital.

         "Using the sport tourism strategy, we hope to open the eyes of the world community that Indonesia has scenic tourist destinations, such as Central Sulawesi, which should be visited," the governor was quoted as saying by his spokesman, Karimin, in Palu, last July.

         The event is also expected to promote Poso, earlier a conflict-ridden city, as a peaceful, safe, and beautiful city now.

         TdCC is a sports tourism event aimed at promoting tourist destinations in Central Sulawesi, according to the governor.

         Owing to the TdCC, Central Sulawesi has received some two thousand foreign tourists and 10 thousand domestic tourists.

         This year, Central Sulawesi has set a target of doubling the number of foreign tourists visiting the province.

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(F001/INE)