The minister of physical culture and sport Svilen Neikov and the mayor of the municipality of Sofia Minko Gerdjikov opened the 59th road bicycle racing stage race “Tour of Bulgaria”.

There was a minute of silence to mark the tragedy in the Lake Ohrid before the start of the race. The Bulgarian competitors raced with a black band on their hands. 90 competitors from 13 international and 4 Bulgarian cycling clubs will take part in the competition. Pavel Shumanov and Ivailo Gabrovski, three times winners of the Tour, are part of the Bulgarian competitors.

“In a hard moment for Bulgaria – the mourning day for the tragedy in the Lake Ohrid, we open the 59th Tour of Bulgaria. I hope this tradition carries on, because it brings prestige to the country. I wish all competitors fairplay and success”, stated Neikov.