Tour of Almaty-2015 kicked off in Kazakhstan's southern capital (PHOTO)
The official part of the event started with a presentation of racers. 19 teams from 16 countries of the world are taking part in it, including Astana ProTeam headed by Fabio Aru and Russia's Katusha. Greeting the participants Mayor of the city Bauyrzhan Baibek noted that the race attracts more and more visitors eveyr year. "Nearly 10,000 people came to Almaty to watch the race last year, while 100 mln viewers around the world watched it on Eurosport channel. Tour of Almaty became the most recognized brands of our city. Thanks to the President's support, Almaty turns into the world's sports centre with growing tourist potential. In the past 10 years our city hosted more than 10 world championships. Approximately 1,200 sports facilities are functioning in the city to date," he said. Astana EXPO-2017 is an official sponsor of the race.
