The Korea Cycling Federation and Gyeongnam Cycling Federation, along with the support of Changnyeong County and the Changnyeong County Council, have kicked off the first cycling event of the year, the 2025 Masters Cycling Changnyeong Tour (for amateurs) and the Changnyeong Tour National Road Cycling Competition (for elites). The event runs from 9th to 12th.
The first gold medal of the 2025 Korean cycling season went to Lee Seo-jin (Watz Racing H Team), who competed in the 103.5km individual road race of the Masters Cycling Tour (MCT).
The Masters Cycling Tour is a road cycling competition in which amateurs, not elite professional athletes, can participate, and has been held annually since 2011 by the Korea Cycling Federation to expand its base. This competition is an official road cycling event that applies the rules of the Korea Cycling Federation, allowing amateur cycling enthusiasts aged 16 and older, regardless of gender or age, to participate and is the most popular competitive amateur road cycling event in the country.
Approximately 200 competitors participate at the same time in each event, racing 60-120km to determine individual and team standings based on their finishing times, with awards given for combined individual and team achievements based on overall cumulative records after the season.
The victorious Lee Seo-jin also brought home the overall leader jersey, as her team, Watz Bike H Team, secured the top spot in the team standings. Despite the challenging uphill course leading to an average speed of 37.9km/h, which prevented female competitors from finishing, Daniel Marquardt (Watz Racing H) took 1st place in the 40s category, while Sven Dr. Grundmanndl (ENGINE11-HOMEBIKE Team) won the 50 and older category.
As the level of amateur participants is increasingly approaching that of professional athletes, Korea Cycling Federation President Lee Sang-hyeon noted, “We will continue to expand events where professional and recreational athletes can compete together.”
In the elite competition, the Changnyeong Tour National Road Cycling Competition held on the 10th, the first gold medal was awarded to Mokcheon High School's Shin Na-ra, who participated in the men’s high school individual road race on Day 1 of the 68.3km course. Second place went to Jang Jun-woo from Yangyang High School, and third place went to Kim Do-yun from Gyeongbuk Physical Education High School. In the simultaneously held men’s general category individual road race (115.5km), 1st place went to Yoon Jae-bin from Korea Sports University, 2nd place to Choi Hyung-min from Geumsan County Office, and 3rd place to Park Kyung-min from Gapyeong County Office.
[OSEN]