Co-hosted by the Beijing Olympic City Development Association (BODA) and the Yanqing District People’s Government of Beijing Municipality, the 2025 Joyful Road of the Winter Olympics Cycling Festival opened in Beijing Expo Park on 16 August. The festival was jointly organised by the Beijing Olympic City Development Centre, the Beijing Mass Sports Administrative Centre and the Yanqing District Sports Bureau. The two-day event featured a professional race, public cycling tours and a carnival, attracting over a thousand professional cyclists and amateurs.
(Firing of starting guns)
As the professional race of this cycling festival, the 2025 Beijing Cycling League (Yanqing Section) opened on the morning of 16 August. This event, the first stop of the 2025 Beijing Cycling League, consisted of the Elite Men’s category (45 km for ages 18-35), the Master Men’s category (45 km for ages 36-55) and the Women’s category (35 km for ages 18-55). As the curtain-raiser for this year’s league, the event drew nearly 500 cyclists from 16 well-known teams in China, such as XDS Branta Team, Silver Lining, Beijing University Alliance Team and Aerobic Riders Club. Participants competed passionately on the scenic circular track of Beijing Expo Park, showcasing the charm of professional cycling. After nearly five hours of intense competition, Wang Wei of the Juqi Craft Beer × CEC-Winning Team secured first place in the Master Men’s category with a time of 53 minutes and 42 seconds. Shi Kuan of the XDS Branta Team grabbed first place in the Elite Men’s category with a time of 54 minutes and 4 seconds, and Zhao Tianqi took the top spot in the Women’s category with a time of 1 hour, 5 minutes and 24 seconds.
(Master Men’s category champion Wang Wei, runner-up Zuo Wenbo and third finisher Ye Zhenchao)
(Elite Men’s category champion Shi Kuan, runner-up Chen Kai and third finisher Dong Jianqi)
(Women’s category champion Zhao Tianqi, runner-up Yao Yao and third finisher Wang Luyao)
(Competition highlights)
To encourage public participation in cycling and allow them to experience firsthand the charm of the Joyful Road of the Winter Olympics, this year’s cycling event also included public cycling tours. Themed “Health for All,” the event adopted both online and offline formats. During the two-day offline cycling event, 300 families enjoyed cycling on a 9km track in Beijing Expo Park, painting a vivid picture of public fitness. As to the online part, cycling enthusiasts from home and abroad could participate in the 150km and 236km challenges through the “Joyful Road of the Winter Olympics” Weixin mini-program, giving them a unique cycling experience.
(Public cycling tour)
The cycling festival also featured a carnival including the dual Olympic caravan, a family cycling tour, a bicycle culture exhibition, AI game interactions, bicycle performances, Teqball performances, cycling game experiences, BMX experiences, and a sports marketplace. The carnival tapped into the new consumption potential of popular sports and the sports economy on holidays and brought together various forms of business such as catering, music, tourism and shopping, spurring the integrated development of culture, commerce, tourism and sports. In the bicycle culture exhibition area, a diverse collection of bicycles from classic vintage models to contemporary ones was on display, illustrating the story of the bicycle culture. The outdoor sports and camping display area presented an array of camping and outdoor gadgets and gear, drawing big crowds of outdoor enthusiasts. The sports marketplace gathered over a dozen sports brands, cultural and creative products and specialty food stalls, creating a bustling and lively atmosphere.
(Visitors have fun at the carnival)
Present at the opening ceremony included Liu Zhuang, Deputy Director General of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism; Yang Jun, Level-II Councilor of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports; Xia Rihong, Deputy Secretary General of BODA and Deputy Director General of the Beijing Olympic City Development Centre; Yan Haiying, Deputy District Mayor of the Yanqing District People’s Government of Beijing Municipality; Kang Dezhu, Deputy Director General of the Changping District Sports Bureau; and Li Xiaolong, Level II Division Rank Official at the General Office of the Zhangjiakou Municipal People’s Government of Hebei Province.
Xia Rihong introduced that the Beijing Olympic City Development Centre, along with other organisations, launched the Joyful Road of the Winter Olympics in July 2024 in an effort to implement President Xi Jinping’s important instructions on “making the most of the legacy of the Games” and accelerating the development of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Sports Culture and Tourism Belt, and to further leverage the Olympic legacy to promote the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. This self-service track across Beijing and Zhangjiakou integrates multiple functions such as leisure, sporting events, dual Olympic cultural experiences and tourism, aimed at meeting the people’s growing demand for cycling, running, hiking and off-roading. Beijing Expo Park in Yanqing District is a key service point on the track. The inaugural Joyful Road of the Winter Olympics Cycling Festival held in the park would feature a professional race, public cycling tours and a carnival. The cycling festival would create diversified consumption scenarios, serve as a great platform for competition, communication and interaction among cycling enthusiasts, and attract numerous citizens and tourists to Yanqing and Beijing Expo Park to travel, ride bikes and take photos. Therefore, the event is of great significance to promote the integrated development of culture, commerce, tourism and sports in Yanqing District, help build Yanqing into a beautiful Winter Olympic town, enrich the activities of the Joyful Road of the Winter Olympics, strengthen its influence and advance the development of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Sports Culture and Tourism Belt and the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.
(Xia Rihong delivers a speech)
The Joyful Road of the Winter Olympics starts at the Beijing Olympic Village and ends at the Yanqing Olympic Village, with a total length of 236.3km. There are 19 service points and three distinctive photo spots along the route. The Joyful Road of the Winter Olympics passes through some core Olympic venues and well-known scenic areas in Beijing and Zhangjiangkou, such as the Beijing Olympic Green (Beijing Olympic Museum), Juyongguan, Badaling, Beijing Expo Park, the Yanqing Olympic Village, Haituo Valley, Snowland and the National Ski Jumping Centre. Since the Joyful Road of the Winter Olympics was unveiled in July 2024, a number of sporting events have been held, including the Chicheng 100 Cycling Tour, the Hood to Coast China, the Great Wall 330 X-BIONIC and the Sunshine Youth Challenge.
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