The 14-day long cycling marathon, which opened the newly established Tour de LatEst route in Vidzeme and Southern Estonia, was finished by around 100 participants on July 24 in Sigulda.

The new route has been developed by the project "ViSoEst by Bike" to attract tourists and improve the cycling possibilities in our region. An impressive 14-day cycling marathon was organized to launch the newly created route, and it managed to bring together over hundred participants from the Baltic countries, as well as Belarus, Ukraine, Germany, the UK and even Turkey.

During this longer trip, cyclists discovered a variety of landscapes, interesting places and sightseeing objects, tested their skills on different roads, as well as enjoyed warm welcoming by local municipalities and a well-organized cultural program. Latvian adventure company “Eži” and the Estonian Cycling Cub had taken good care of the practical aspects of the trip, thus allowing the participants to fully enjoy the route and the tourism objects around it. The group was partly led by the famous former Latvian biathlete Jēkabs Nākums who joined the trip and kept up the spirit of all.

Information about the new route has already spread out widely – participants of the launching marathon had received it through friends, online networks and local tourism agencies in other countries. An even greater surprise was accidental meeting of a British couple in Brenguļi who happened to use part of Tour de LatEst route outside of the organized marathon, just because they had found the map in their local tourist information centre.

The unforgettable two weeks showed the beauty of local bicycle tourism and proved to be a nice offer for active holidays that we have in our own region.

For more information about Tour de LatEst and marathon pictures, please visit the galleries of the participating photographers Artis Rams, Jānis Glāzers and Володимир Литвиненко, the website of the Vidzeme Tourism Association (lead partner of the project) www.vidzeme.com and our web gallery.