Çanakkale Gran Fondo cycling race concludes in Turkey

The inaugural ŠKODA Çanakkale Gran Fondo cycling race concluded in Çanakkale, Turkey, bringing together 924 athletes from 13 different countries. The event featured both long and short courses, allowing participants to pedal across two continents by using ferries to cross the Çanakkale Strait and traversing the Gelibolu Historical Peninsula before crossing the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge back to the Asian side.

In the long course (112.75 km), Cengiz Güner secured first place in the men's category with a time of 3:03:11, while Züleyha Dikbaş won the women's category with a time of 3:31:16. For the short course (77.31 km), Erkan Güngör was the men's champion and Aylin Yüce took the top spot for the women.

In preparation for the event, Çanakkale Municipality conducted empathy and awareness training for public bus drivers to improve road safety and cooperation between motorists and cyclists. The race was supported by various organizations, including the Turkish National Olympic Committee and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.