Tobago Cycling Classic

Tobago Cycling Classic

First run	1986
Period	October
country	Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago
Type	One day race
Data
Events	29
Last winner	James Piccoli Canada
Record winner	Emile Abraham 3 × Trinidad and Tobago

The Tobago International Cycling Classic (also: Tour of Tobago ) is a cycling - day race , which annually on the Caribbean -Insel Tobago takes place. The competition will be held in October and has been part of the UCI America Tour in category 1.2 since 2011 . The Cycling Classic is part of a week-long cycling and tourism festival. The record winner is the local Emile Abraham , who celebrated three victories in a row from 2001 onwards. The only German winner so far is Andreas Hening , who was successful in 2007. In 2011 the competition was won by the Austrian Riccardo Zoidl .

The race was held for the first time in 1986 in order to offer cycling as a platform in addition to the very popular sports on Tobago such as football or athletics . At times the Tobago Cycling Classic was a five-day stage race , but eventually it was again organized as a one-day race. Since 2000 the race has also been open to international participants; subsequently, for example, athletes from Germany and Austria also participated . In 2011, the Tobago Cycling Classic was finally included in the international racing calendar of the UCI World Cycling Federation and marks the start of the UCI America Tour 2012 . At the start there are professionals as well as amateur racers. The race will be held as part of a six-day cycling event, the Tobago Inter Cycle Classic . In 2016 women took part for the first time, including the German drivers Sofie Mangertseder and Alina Lange .

The 112 kilometer route of the race includes some short but very steep gradients of up to 20 percent. Parts of the road run through the island's rainforest , and the high temperatures force participants to increase their fluid intake.