Kaohsiung plays host to first day of Tour de Taiwan

This year's Tour de Taiwan 2008 started yesterday with a race along the Love River (愛河) in Kaohsiung City, drawing 98 cyclists from 20 countries.

As this year marks the 20th anniversary of the race, its scope has been expanded.

The race will pass through eight stages in several cities on the west coast before ending at Taipei 101 next Sunday. The entire race is 850.2km long. Yesterday's opening stage was 88km.

The stage began at the Kaohsiung Museum of History and went via Hetung Road, Kaohsiung Bridge on Wufu 3rd Road, and Tachih Road back to the museum. The contestants had to finish 40 2.2km laps.

The event organizers are also cooperating with local authorities along the route to host a "Tour de Taiwan Way to Go; Contestants Go Go Go" campaign at each stage.