Armenia to Host Inaugural UCI Tour of Armenia Cycling Race

Armenia will host its first Tour of Armenia this month, bringing a four-day international cycling race to the country as part of the UCI Europe Tour.

The inaugural race will run Sept. 10-13, taking cyclists across 587 kilometers of roads and more than 5,300 meters of climbing before finishing in Yerevan.

The Tour of Armenia joins the Union Cycliste Internationale’s calendar this season as a UCI 2.2 race. The designation places the event on the international professional road cycling circuit and allows UCI continental teams, national teams and other eligible squads to compete.

The race is organized by the Armenian government and the Armenian Cycling Federation, with technical support from RCS Sports and Events DMCC.

Over four stages, cyclists will race through Gegharkunik, Tavush, Lori and Aragatsotn before reaching the Armenian capital. Organizers say they hope to establish the Tour of Armenia as an annual event while using the race to expand professional cycling and sports tourism in the country.

The competition begins Sept. 10 with a 135-kilometer stage from Gavar to Mets Masrik in Gegharkunik. With only about 450 meters of climbing, the opening day is expected to favor sprinters as the course follows Lake Sevan.

A much tougher test follows on Stage 2. Riders will cover 177 kilometers from Kirants in Tavush to Stepanavan in Lori, climbing roughly 2,400 meters along the way — the largest elevation gain of any stage in the race.

Kirants, a small community near Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan, is known for its historic monastery. The finish will bring the peloton to Stepanavan, a mountain town near the Stepanavan Dendropark, one of northern Armenia’s best-known natural attractions.

Stage 3 could prove decisive in the race for the overall title. The 162-kilometer route begins in Martuni and includes three mountain passes before an uphill finish at Lake Parz near Dilijan.

Riders will gain about 1,700 meters of elevation during the stage, traveling along part of Lake Sevan before turning toward the forested mountains of Tavush. The finish at Lake Parz will come several kilometers outside Dilijan.

The race moves to Yerevan for its final day on Sept. 13.

The 113-kilometer finale will consist of 10 laps through the capital, with about 750 meters of climbing. The stage will determine the first overall winner of the Tour of Armenia and close four days of racing across some of the country’s most varied terrain.

The Armenian Cycling Federation and the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports have worked in recent years to expand cycling in Armenia. Officials also see the new race as an opportunity to raise Armenia’s profile as a destination for major international sporting events.

For its debut, the Tour of Armenia will combine that ambition with a course designed to showcase the country itself — from Lake Sevan and the mountains of northern Armenia to a final race through the streets of Yerevan.

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