2024-07-22 13:45:58
Placed under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, the Tour will start in Laayoune on May 31 and end in Casablanca on June 9, crossing cities and sites classified as world heritage by UNESCO.
This edition offers a 1680 km route through several regions and cities offering diverse natural and biological landscapes.
The Tour of Morocco, which is part of the International Cycling Union (UCI Africa Tour) calendar, is considered one of the oldest tours in the world, the first edition was organized in 1916 before taking on an official character from 1937.
This flagship event of national cycling will thus be another opportunity to highlight Morocco’s potential in terms of organizing major international events.
For the president of the Royal Moroccan Cycling Federation, Mohamed Belmahi, this edition aims to shed light on the economic, social and cultural assets of Morocco and on the growth experienced by the southern provinces of the Kingdom, as well as on the natural diversity of the regions crossed by the tour.
In a statement to MAP, Mr. Belmahi stressed that the course of this edition is designed to diversify the challenges and obstacles that the runners must face, adding that the Moroccan participants keep all their chances during this competition.
The riders who will be at the start of this tour will cover the programmed distance in 10 stages. The first (May 31) will link Laayoune to Tarfaya (150.4 km).
This edition will see the participation of selections and teams from Egypt, Benin, Burkina Faso, Germany, France, Romania, Croatia, Turkey, Portugal, Philippines, United States, United Kingdom, Luxembourg and Japan, in addition to Morocco.
It should be noted that three Moroccan riders have won the Tour of Morocco in the past, namely the Moroccan cycling legend, the late Mohammed El Gourch, who won three titles in 1960, 1964 and 1965, Mohcine Lahssaini (2011) and Anas Aït Laabdia (2017).
2024-07-22 13:45:58