Magnificent Zhanghe, a cycling paradise.

At 9:00 AM on the morning of October 25th, the Hangte Cup - 2025 Tour of Zhanghe International Road Cycling Race grandly commenced at the Aifeike Town in Zhanghe New District, Jingmen City, Hubei Province. Twenty top professional cycling teams from 12 countries and regions, including Romania, Thailand, and Indonesia, along with 38 touring teams from 10 cities both inside and outside the province, such as Nanjing, Nanchang, and Wuhan, and over 500 cycling enthusiasts, gathered on the banks of the Zhanghe River to collectively enjoy a sporting spectacular that showcases speed, strength, nature, and humanistic beauty.

      The event is hosted by the Chinese Cycling Association, Hubei Provincial Sports Bureau, and the Jingmen Municipal People's Government, and is organized by the Wushu and Winter Sports Administration Center of the Hubei Provincial Sports Bureau, the Hubei Zhanghe Project Administration, the Jingmen Municipal Culture and Tourism Bureau (Sports Bureau), and the Jingmen City Zhanghe New District Management Committee. It is held under the theme of "Beautiful Zhanghe, Cycling Paradise." The competition is divided into two days: the Professional Group Road Race and the Public Fitness Cycling Tour Group were held on October 25th. The Professional Group Road Race covered two laps of the main Zhanghe Reservoir Loop Road, totaling 134 kilometers. At 9:20 AM, with a starting signal, 140 professional riders began their 134-kilometer cycling challenge. After fierce competition, Callum ORMISTON of The Hurricane & Thunder Cycling Team emerged as the champion, with Christoph JANSSEN of the Huansheng-VONOA-Taishan Sport Continental Team securing second place, and Gleb KARPENKO of the Quick Pro Continental Team taking third place.

      The route for the Public Fitness Cycling Tour Group was designed along the "Ten-Mile Gallery" of the Zhanghe auxiliary dam, spanning 26 kilometers. More than 500 cycling enthusiasts immersed themselves in the ecological and natural tapestry of the Zhanghe, enjoying the fun and sense of achievement brought by the sport of cycling.

      October 26th featured the Professional Group Circuit Race and the Men's Road Cycling City Criterium Challenge. The Professional Group Circuit Race covered 10 laps of the main internal loop of the Aifeike Town, totaling 80 kilometers. The Men's Road Cycling City Criterium Challenge involved 6 laps, covering a total distance of 48 kilometers, passing multiple city landmarks. A total of 169 riders participated from 10 cities, including Wuhan, Nanjing, Nanchang, Yichang, and Jingmen.

The Tour of Zhanghe Cycling Race officially began in 2023, and was upgraded to a Class C international event in China in 2024. In 2025, the Tour of Zhanghe International Road Cycling Race has maintained its high standard as an international competition, successfully attracting 20 professional teams, including 12 foreign professional teams from countries like Australia, South Korea, and Mongolia, and 8 domestic star teams. The overall competitive level has significantly improved compared to 2024, and the total scale of the event has exceeded 1,000 participants, creating a diverse structure that emphasizes both professional competition and public participation. The event debuted a "online + offline" dual participation model, with the online challenge attracting 188,000 cycling enthusiasts across the country to compete in the cloud. A series of supporting activities, such as the "Oranges are Ripe" Country Music Festival and the 3rd Hubei Rural E-commerce Live Streaming Competition, created a rich atmosphere of "scenic views during the race, and fun outside the race," elevating the sports event into a cultural and sports extravaganza involving the whole public and city. The event innovatively adopted the model of "one day of racing, multiple days of stay; one city hosts, multiple cities participate," using sports as a link to stimulate cultural and tourism consumption. In addition to watching the race, participants and tourists can experience distinctive attractions like the Zhanghe Sunny Beach and Huxin Island Scenic Area, and taste local specialties such as rainbow trout, thereby converting the event's "traffic" into an "increment" for regional development, and allowing both athletes and citizens to feel the charm of the Hubei landscape and the vitality of the city through competition.

      With the theme "Beautiful Zhanghe, Cycling Paradise," this event aims to fully showcase the unique charm of the Zhanghe National 4A-level Tourist Scenic Area through a high-level sports competition. As Jingmen's "Mother River," the Zhanghe Reservoir boasts expansive waters and beautiful scenery, serving as a habitat for rare species like the "living fossil" Craspedacusta sowerbii (freshwater jellyfish) and the Chinese Merganser. The National 4A-level Zhanghe Scenic Area, with the reservoir at its core, is a veritable "Pearl of Jingchu," where mountains and waters meet in an enchanting landscape, forming a natural ecological oxygen bar. The Tour of Zhanghe International Road Cycling Race course is set along the Zhanghe Reservoir Loop Road, winding through green mountains and clear waters. Blue waves, pastoral fields, and new urban scenery are strung together into a single vista, making the ride an immersive journey traversing nature and culture.