Iran-China-Cycling
Iranian cycling team from Tabriz Petrochemical company will participate in the 2008 Tour de Qinghai Lake cycling race in China.

The team's members include Hossein Asgari, Hossein Nateqi, Ahad Kazemi, Hossein Jahanbanian, Vahid Ghafari and Reza Baqeri.

The race is the largest international cycling race before the August Beijing Olympics.

Tour de Qinghai Lake is held annually since 2002 in northwest China's Qinghai province.

This year's event will go through from July 11 to 20, covering 10 stages daily by adding one stage of individual time trials as the prelude.

The first stage is set for 3.8 kilometers individual time trial on downtown streets of the provincial capital Xining.

The last stage is a circuit of Xining.

The overall distance is nearly 1,400 kilometers, including 1,354.2 kilometers in cycling.

Some 252 cyclists and officials of 21 teams, chosen from nearly 40 applicants, will take part in the race.

The teams, from 17 countries and regions, include 6 UCI (International Cycling Union) continental pro teams like Czech PSK, Ireland CSF, and Netherlands COS.

Five Olympic teams from Russia, Ukraine, Denmark, China and Hong Kong SAR will also appear in the race.

On May, Iranian cycling team from Tabriz Petrochemical company ranked first among Asian teams.

UCI said that the team shone in Indonesian Tour of East Java and Iran's first Presidential Cycling Tour.

Tabriz Petrochemical Team won 552 points and stood at first place before Japan and China which have ranked second and third
respectively.

By receiving 232 points, the Iranian cycling team clinched the title of best Asian cycling team in 2007.