Taipei, Dec. 11 (CNA) The 2008 Tour de Taiwan, Taiwan's most prestigious cycling event, will be held next year from March 9-16, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the event, the Chinese Taipei Cycling Association (CTCA) announced in a press conference Tuesday.
The race will have eight stages and cover a distance of 861.2 kilometers, setting off from the southern city of Kaohsiung and finishing in Taipei City. In between, the route covers the western counties of Pingtung, Changhua, Taichung, Hsinchu, Taipei County and will finish at the Nangang Exhibition Hall in Taipei City.
The Tour de Taiwan was first held in 1987 by CTCA and has been awarded the distinguished level of 2.2 by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).
With a total purse of US$50,000 and important points for cyclists looking to qualify for the cycling event in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the race will be an important event, the CTCA stated.