The "Cycling for Democracy - July 15 Democracy Cycling Race" has been held with the participation of 45 teams and 148 cyclists from 13 countries as part of the July 15 Democracy and National Unity Day festivities conducted in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia.

The race was conducted in Košutnjak City Park in Belgrade, and attended by Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to Belgrade Tanju Bilgiç, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Nebojša Stefanović, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce, Tourism and Telecommunication Minister Rasim Ljajić, Youth and Sports Minister Predrag Perunicic, Serbian Cycling Union and Novi Sad Cycling Club officials and many Turkish citizens.

Stefanović: We would like to cooperate with Turkey against terror and organized crime

Serbian Interior Minister Nebojša Stefanović delivered a keynote speech at the July 15 Turkish-Serbian Friendship Cycling Race, indicating that Turkey saw an attack against democracy three years ago and Serbia has always supported Turkey's fight against terror and organized crime.

Pointing out that the struggle against the Gülenist Terror Organization (FETÖ) was important also for Serbia, Deputy Prime Minister Stefanović stated that Turkey gave a strong and effective reaction to the nefarious incident that occurred three years ago and the case of democracy advocacy in Turkey should be a model for many countries.

Airplane tickets for winners

Martin Haring from Slovakia came the first in the men's category while Lejla Tanovic from Bosnia and Herzegovina won the first place in the women's category. Of the cyclists from the Turkish national team, Abdülkadir Kelleci came the third in the men's category while Azize Bekar won the first place in the young women's category. The winners were given airplane tickets by the Turkish Airlines (THY).

The program was supported by Yunus Emre Institute's Belgrade Branch under the auspices of the Turkish Embassy in Belgrade, and the local participants such as Serbian Cycling Union and Novi Sad Cycling Club and Turkish institutions and organization, namely Salcano, Halkbank, Beko, LC Waikiki and THY acted as sponsors.