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julian_w
Joined: 08 Sep 2003
Location: Somewhere beyond Middle Peak Hotel, north of Middle Earth, and well away from the Middle of the Road
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 Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2007 7:35 am Post subject: Road Cyclists - The Tour de Korea |
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The 1,300 kilometer long �Tour du Korea� is from September 1st, and involves nine days of high-speed exploring of Korea�s roads.
It starts in Seoul and finishes in Busan, and will see elite racing bike teams of riders aged 19 and over invited from around the world to participate in the annual Korean event.
Most teams come from Asia, including one team from East Java called the PSN (�Polygon Sweet Nice�), although there are teams from elsewhere, particularly including Germany, Australia and for the first time, South Africa.
All teams and racers invited will be competing for a total prize pool with the value of US$100,000.
The Tour will cover the following stages:
Stage 1 � September 1 � 21.0km Seoul Criterium style consisting of seven 3km laps
Stage 2 - September 2 � 163. 2km - Chun Cheon to Yang Yang
Stage 3 - September 3 � 193.0 km � Yang Yang to Dan Yang
Stage 4 � September 4 � 155.8 km � Dan Yang � Yeon Gi
Stage 5 � September 5 - 161.0 km � Yeon Gi � Jeong Eub
Stage 6 � September 6 � 162.8 km � Jeong Eub-Kang Jin
Stage 7 � September 7 � 183.2 km � Kang Jin � Ham Yang
Stage 8 � September 8 � 175.1 km � Ham Yang � Miryang
Stage 9 � September 9 � 89.8 km � Busan Circuit
I'd like to offer more information, but don't read enough Korean. If you have a Korean-reading friend who is in to road cycling: http://cycling.or.kr
There's also a good overeview of the 2005 Tour de Korea in English, with pictures, here
... and this article below:
From Sept. 1 to 9, Hyundai Cap-
ital Services Inc. will hold the
�Hyundai Capital Invitational
Tour de Korea 2007,� hosting a range
of events throughout the country for
its customers.
The parade will kick off at 2 p.m.
on Sept. 1 at Olympic Park, and pass
Jamsil Bridge, Olympic Bridge and
Gangdong Avenue on its 10-kilome-
ter course before returning to Olympic
Park. As a special addition to this
year�s event, Lance Armstrong, cancer
survivor and seven-time winner of the
Tour de France, will take part. In
addition, famous Korean actors Ahn
Sung-kee and Kim Sang-Kyung will
also participate as publicity ambassa-
dors, as well as actors from the movie
�Remember U 518.�
Hyundai Capital Invitational Tour
de Korea 2007 is likely to become
Asia�s largest cycle racing event, with
famous athletes and bicycle club
members joining in.
The tour has gained much attention
through the marketing of Hyundai
Capital�s first event, the �Hyundai
Capital Invitational,� a series of sports
and cultural happenings.
Hyundai Capital will be provid-
ing full support for the 50 contestants
chosen through a lottery, including a
VIP package of quality bicycle equip-
ment. In addition, they will experi-
ence the Hyundai Capital Care pro-
gram, enjoying a separate locker
room, resting lounge and drinks at the
company�s booth.
People who wish to participate
must apply through the Hyundai Cap-
ital Invitational section of the
Hyundai Capital Web site at
www.hyundaicapital.com. This event is
restricted to those who own a bicycle
and participants must have safety
equipment on the tour day.
An official from Hyundai Capital
remarked, �This world-class bicycle
event will provide Korean sports fans
lots to see. Bicycling is already very
popular in advanced countries such as
Europe and Australia. Hyundai Capi-
tal will continue to introduce exclu-
sive sports and cultural events seldom
seen in Korea through the Hyundai
Capital Invitational Series.�
Hyundai Capital, with 15 trillion
won in assets, is the market leader in
the Korean financial industry. It had
48 branches nationwide and 4,000
employees as of 2006. Currently,
Hyundai Capital stands in an unri-
valed position, taking more than 67
percent of the annual 8 trillion won
auto-financing market. The company
introduced the first maintenance
auto-lease service in Korea in 2001. |
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GoldMember
Joined: 24 Oct 2006
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| Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2007 5:17 pm Post subject: |
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Korean person: How was your trip to Japan?
Whitey: Great, I rode my bicycle everywhere, lots and lots of bicycle riders in Japan.
Korean person: We can't have bicycles in Korea.
Whitey: Why not?
Korean person: Too many cars!
Actual Conversation |
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Gatsby
Joined: 09 Feb 2007
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| Posted: Sat Sep 01, 2007 5:28 pm Post subject: |
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http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/sports/2007/09/136_9358.html
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By Jonathan Sanfilippo
Staff Reporter
He's overcome cancer. He's become one of the most recognizable athletes in the world. He's helped raise exuberant amounts of money for charities. He's dated a rock star. He's made appearances in movies and television.
Now, retired cyclist Lance Armstrong is doing something entirely new. For the first time in his life, the 35-year-old American is visiting South Korea.
``I've never been to Korea before,'' Armstrong said during a press conference Friday at the Sheraton Grande Walkerhill. ``It was a great honor to wake up this morning and see how pretty Korea is.''
Armstrong is in Korea this weekend to promote the Tour de Korea, a nine-stage, 1,500-kilometer bike race that will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday in Olympic Park and end Sept. 9 in Busan. The Tour, which is sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), is expected to draw 132 professional cyclists - that includes eight Korean teams and 14 teams from other countries - along with 5,000 amateurs.
``I'm happy to be here,'' said Armstrong, who won the Tour de France _ cycling's most prestigious race _ seven consecutive times.
His visit to Korea should keep him busy. In addition to being at the Tour de Korea's starting line to see off the participants, his schedule includes visiting cancer patients, meeting young Korean cyclists, and donating equipment for an auction that will raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation in Korea, before leaving on Sunday.
``It's such a full schedule,'' he said. ``It's hard to tell what to do or what's going on. ... I don't have a lot of free time.''
Armstrong's life story and plethora of accomplishments have made him an inspirational figure throughout the world. A native of Texas, he got involved in endurance sports as a teenager by competing in triathlons. He later focused his attention toward cycling and quickly moved up the amateur ranks, where he captured the U.S. Amateur Championship in 1991. Shortly afterward, he turned pro and continued his rise to prominence in the sport until he entered 1996 as the No. 1-ranked cyclist in the world.
But then his life and career took a shocking turn. After becoming ill, he was diagnosed in October of 1996 as having testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain. Given less than a 50 percent chance of recovering, he underwent aggressive treatment, which included chemotherapy and surgery.
``I suppose the most important thing is I was given a disease that at the time I got it, it was curable,'' he said.
After an arduous fight to recover, Armstrong not only overcame the cancer, but made a return to cycling that produced unprecedented accomplishments. He won the Tour de France a record seven times from 1999 through 2005, giving him two more Tour victories than any other rider in history. Along the way, he received numerous awards and honors from organizations around the world.
``I always loved my job,'' said Armstrong, who retired from professional cycling in 2005. ``I loved what I did. I loved the bicycle and racing it.''
``The thing I miss the most is the simplicity of it. The job of an athlete is very simple. Their job is to train and win.''
Armstrong's fame isn't limited to cycling, though. After getting divorced from his wife with whom he had three children, Armstrong drew attention a few years ago by dating singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow. He's also made movie appearances by playing himself in ``Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'' in 2004 and in ``You, Me and Dupree'' in 2006, along with making television appearances that include hosting the 2006 ESPY Awards.
Armstrong has used his celebrity to promote various charitable causes. Most notably, he's a spokesman for cancer research and has started the Lance Armstrong Foundation, an organization that provides support to cancer patients.
``Right now, my biggest focus is on the disease and trying to make the disease a national priority in the U.S.,'' he said, adding that he hopes countries around the world will work together to improve cancer research.
Armstrong continues to promote cycling, too. While he has no intentions of coming out of retirement, he said he still enjoys riding his bike and watching the sport.
His hobbies also include running. He completed last year's New York City Marathon, and plans to do so again this year.
``I try to do some exercise and stay in shape, and I feel pretty good,'' he said.
[email protected] |
Lance Armstrong is a class act.
Welcome to Korea, Lance! |
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