Elite women racing at the 2009 Cyprus Sunshine Cup in Amathous (Image credit: Armin Küstenbrück)
Organizers of the Cyprus Sunshine Cup have fixed the dates for its 2010 events. The well-known, early season races on the island of Cyprus traditionally give racers from nothern climates a chance to race their way into spring shape.
Next year's series will be more compact - covering two weeks and three weekends from February 21 to March 7. That should mean that more racers will be able to compete for the overall classification, including 29,000 euros in prize money.
Voroklini, which served as the final in 2009, will kick off the Sunshine Cup in February of 2010. Next will be the Afxentia stage race in the Macheras forest from February 26-28. The series will conclude at Amathous, among ancient Mediterranean ruins, on March 7.
All three events will be UCI-registered for both elite riders and junior riders.
Amateur racers may compete in the new Aphrodite Trophy a few weeks later. It will include the established mountain bike marathon race - a previous round of the Sunshine Cup - between Tochni and Kalavasos on March 21. The day before, racers can also participate in a run over distances of two, five and 15 kilometres. ,
2010 Cyprus Sunshine Cup February 21: Voroklini (cross country, UCI Cat. 1) February 26-28: Afxentia Macheras Mountains (stage race, cat. 1) March 7: Amathous-Agios-Tychon (cross country, UCI Cat. 1)
Aphrodite Trophy 2010 March 20: Tochni Mountain Run March 21: Tochni Mountain Bike Marathon
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Sue George is an editor at Cyclingnews. She coordinates all of the site's mountain bike race coverage and assists with the road, 'cross and track coverage.
