The race, situated at an average altitude of 3000 meters, brings its own set of unique challenges. For many of the riders the race is a ten day journey of discovery, not unlike that of the pilgrims. Qinghai Lake is a sacred lake for the Tibetans and like most sacred lakes in Tibet, pilgrims circumambulate it, which can take up to 25 days. What draws the thousands of locals to stand on the road side for hours before the race passes through their small town or their yurt on the side of a mountain is the color and spectacle of the race. The locals may not be aware of who these riders are, or what they may have gone on to achieve. Some of the world's best riders have ridden the race Tom Danielson won the inaugural race in 2002 before Damiano Cunego took the title the following year. The beauty of racing in Qinghai is in its simplicity. It is no surprise then that they are not known as a major force in road racing, yet they have chosen the sport as a means to raise the country's tourist appeal. However, the majority of their 1.2 billion inhabitants are lucky to raise a sweat as they make their way around on the utilitarian machines that dominate the streets. China is well known for having made the bicycle a primary means of transport, so much so that they currently have over one billion bikes. What does set the race apart is the people and tradition, or in this case it's lack of it. In fact Qinghai boasts the highest mountain pass in cycling the Laji Mountain takes riders to a maximum altitude of 3880 metres. Flat stages suited to sprinters such as Alex Rasmussen and Allan Davis, who have taken nine stages between them in the last two years, are broken up by some of the highest mountains ever seen in a bike race. Much like many European races, The Tour of Qinghai Lake takes in a variety of terrains. Yet despite the location, racing in China is not too different to the rest of the world. Greg Chappell, cricketer, captain of Australia (1975-77, 1979-84), 75 Brian Conley, entertainer, 62 Dominic Cork, cricketer, England (1995-2002), 52 Roger Boyes, diplomatic editor and columnist, The Times, 71 Bruce Dickinson, singer, Iron Maiden, Piece of Mind (1983), and pilot, 65 David Duchovny, actor, The X-Files (1993-2002, 2015-16, 2018), 63 Giorgetto Giugiaro, designer, Volkswagen Golf Mk 1 and DMC DeLorean, 85 Lauren Hemp, Manchester City and member of the Euro 2022-winning England team, 23 Harry Hyman, founder and chief executive of Primary Health Properties, founder of the International Opera Awards, 67 Garrison Keillor, writer, Lake Wobegon Days (1985), and broadcaster, 81 Sir Andrew Large, deputy governor, Bank of England (2002-06), 81 Zane Lowe, radio and TV presenter, 50 Seema Malhotra, Labour MP for Feltham and Heston, shadow business, energy and industrial strategy minister, 51 Robert Mueller, special US counsel who investigated allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 US election, director of the FBI (2001-13), 79 Matthew Parris, Times columnist, broadcaster and Conservative MP (1979-86), 74 Gustavo Petro, president of Colombia, 64 Dame Anne Richards, chief executive, Fidelity International, 59 Nick Ross, presenter, Crimewatch (1984-2007), 76 Alexei Sayle, comedian, The Young Ones (1982-84), 71 Sir Michael Smurfit, chairman, Smurfit Kappa Group (2005-07), 87 Sir Richard Sykes, chancellor, Brunel University (2013-22), chairman, Royal Institution (2010-21), 81 Charlize Theron, actress, Monster (2003), 48 Craig Tregurtha, group managing editor of The Times and Sunday Times (2013-22), 52 Jimmy Wales, co-founder (2001) of Wikipedia, 57.One of the main hurdles for any non-Asian team visiting the race is the culture shock.
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