Taipei Int'l Cycle Show 2008
A Debut Event of Nangang Exhibition Hall

Organized by TAITRA (Taiwan External Trade Center) and Taiwan Bicycle Exporters' Association, the 21st Taipei International Cycle Show was inaugurated from March 13 to 16 at Nangang Exhibition Hall. This show attracted local and international attention. Not only did it set records in size and the number of buyers, but it was also the first show in Nangang Exhibition Hall.

According to TAITRA, the exhibitors had a 24 percent increase over the last year's count. The show attracted more than 86,000 local and oversea visitors. This year, 4673 foreign buyers came to visit the show, a 18.6 percent increase over the last year's count. Many exhibitors have already reserved the booths for the next year because the buyers has increased a great deal this timer.

Tour de Taiwan livened the Show up
Race Course to be Improved

This year the Tour de Taiwan added one stop nearby Nangang Exhibition Hall. Combining with the last stage at the Taipei World Trade Center on March 16, this event has livened TaiSpo and Taipei Cycle shows up.

The international sport events require a large amount of manpower for traffic control. In Tour de Taiwan, the organizer has mobilized 150 professional biker members from Big Apple Team to help the traffic control.

However, there were some construction sites nearby Nangang. Many small stones scattered on the road, causing risk for cars and motorcycles. As for the bike race, it would impact a lot of bikers if any accident occurred. “Taipei City Government should take good care of the road condition to attract more excellent sportsmen to participate” said Cheng Ji-yuan, captain of Big Apple Team. He suggested that the City government should have cleaned up and paved the road one or two days before the race. “It takes one day to have the road done because it is only 1.5 kilometer race,” he said.

Yeh Feng-chiang, general manager of Shin-wei Company, mentioned that this year, the traffic condition nearby Taipei World Trade Center was very congested, making staff and bikers very nervous. On the other hand, the area near Nangang Exhibition Hall was spacious and had less traffic, which was an ideal place for city race. There was also a historical significance in this race because Nangang Exhibition Hall was formally inaugurated this year. “The spectators were very enthusiastic today. It is the seventh day of the race and only today they stayed until end of the race” said Yeh.

The EUROBIkE in Friedrichshafen of Germany, largest of its kind in Europe, will host the similar event during the show. Yeh thought that Taipei International Cycle Show offered higher level events with stronger theme and significance. “Tour de Taiwan is an international race. It is perfect for an international exhibition to combine with such an international race,” Yeh said. He pointed out that, among 16 countries joining Tour de Taiwan, four international gold medal winners participated in the race.