Tour of Shanghai 2026 race kicks off autumn cycling season

The 2026 Tour of Shanghai - New Cities, the opening event of the city's autumn cycling season, gets underway from Friday to Sunday.

As Shanghai's first men's road cycling event on the UCI Asia Tour, this year's race covers around 300 kilometers and passes landmarks across the city's five new towns of Jiading, Songjiang, Qingpu, Fengxian, and Nanhui, drawing 122 riders from 21 top professional teams representing 12 countries.

On the eve of the race, riders held a parade along the Bund. The roughly 6-kilometer route started at The Grand Halls, a north Bund landmark transformed from a century-old warehouse and dockyard complex, and ran along the historic riverbank, showcasing the area's most iconic scenery.

"Very beautiful. I've never seen it before, so it's good to see," said Luca Verrando from UCI ProTeam Solution Tech - NIPPO - Rali.

Also from the team, Tommaso Nencini, who participated in the Shanghai Tour last year, noted its high level of competition.

"I remember last year was a very fast race. I think this year will be even faster because it's totally flat. I will try to win," he said.

Lucas De Rossi of China Anta-Mentech said his team is aiming high.

"We come for the winner's stage and also we want to win the GC (General Classification)," he said.

For the first time, the event is opening its full professional course to amateurs. On Sunday, after the professionals complete the Fengxian-Nanhui stage, 20 elite amateur teams will ride the same route. Online and offline virtual cycling events and second-screen venues are also expected to draw wider public participation.

"Through the event, we showcase to the world the development of Shanghai's five new towns," said Zhang Weiyao, deputy general manager of Shanghai Jiushi Sports, Entertainment, and Cultural Tourism Group, co-host of the event.

The autumn cycling season will continue with the Tour of Chongming Island UCI Women's WorldTour and the UCI Track Cycling World Championships, bringing together elite riders and cycling enthusiasts from around the world to experience Shanghai's urban appeal and the excitement of the sport.

Tour of Shanghai 2026 race kicks off autumn cycling season

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday held positive and constructive phone talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The two sides had an in-depth exchange of views on China-U.S. relations and the interaction between the two heads of state.

During the talks, Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that President Xi Jinping's visit to the United States in September was smooth and successful.

The two heads of state agreed to enrich the connotation of a new vision of China-U.S. relations, providing clearer strategic guidance for exploring a right approach for the two countries to get along with each other, Wang said.

The stable momentum of China-U.S. relations has not come easily and is the two major countries' rational choice based on their respective and common interests, Wang said.

China, having maintained a stable and consistent policy towards the United States, is willing to strengthen communication and cooperation with the U.S. side, properly handle differences and sensitive issues, support each other in hosting the 2026 APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and the G20 Summit, and work to bring a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability into effect and deliver results, Wang said.

Chinese FM holds positive, constructive phone talks with Rubio on China-U.S. ties