Serk Cycling Beijing
The best multi-day stage race in China just got better. The Serk package is aimed at visiting overseas and domestic riders who want hassle-free race experience, insider race advice (our staff have placed in the top 10 GC in two of the three editions of the race) and optimized tourist experience. The best hotels - tick. VIP bike transport - tick. Fast pre and post-race transport - tick. Translation - tick. Proper coffee - tick. Serk are the China cycling experts - let us make this amazing race an even more enjoyable experience.
The formula
We provide a VIP package for the Nordic Ways Colourful Yunnan Granfondo in conjunction with the organizer this year.
The organizer provides the following:
- Race Registration
- At least 4-star Hotel booking
- Drinks and snacks at the finish-line
Serk Provides the following in addition:
- Transportation - quick race transport from/to hotel
- GPS Routes – we will provide files for your Garmin for each stage
- Race advice - we've raced here many times and can help with race strategy and stage advice
- Passenger van providing a seat for each rider for stage transfers.
- Pro-grade Bike Van with appropriate bike protection for transporting bikes
- Airport pick up and drop off (2nd in Mangshi and 10th from Lijiang)
- Best coffee in town
Not included
- Airfare
- Personal consumption – meals, energy bars, snacks, alcohol, souvenir etc
- Bike packing (we can do this for an extra fee if required)
- Bike hire - we have high-end bikes available if interested
Price
Ask us.
What value do we add to the official package and why?
The Gran Fondo is currently subsidized by the local government - large buses and trucks are used to ferry the hundreds of riders and bikes around the stages. The official package will have you sitting around for hours at the race finish waiting for others to finish/waiting at the other end for your bike and the general inefficiency that traveling with a group of hundreds of riders together creates.
In comparison, we are a commercial operation and are providing a much higher end personalized service for 15-25 riders. With that comes a higher price to cover the costs of our staff and time. When you consider our overall price for a 9-day experience it is quite reasonable. If you also consider how much extra time you will have for recovery and/or exploring the local culture and sights each day it is even more value.
Serk help make the race stress free so you can focus on achieving your goals
Serk Package Details:
Accommodation Support
We will get you to the race hotel first with our transportation to avoid the following hassle:
- Pushing through the masses at the front desk to get your room card every day (you change hotel almost every day).
- Waiting around at reception after the race while your room gets sorted (see pic to the right)
What Serk provides:
- Easy in and out of the hotels – more time for you to rest/refresh or get out and see the town
Transport Support
We will have a van for transporting riders and a pro-grade bike van for transporting bikes with professional bike handlers.
Why?
There are hundreds of riders participating in the event so the event official transportation can be slow and cumbersome.
Race transportation expect the following:
- Waiting around for the last participants to finish before the bus departs (this can be hours on a 180km stage)
- Fighting to get access to your kit bag on the bus post race. All the bags are positioned on a bus and its always chaos as riders get onto the bus to find bags / change clothes and refuel. Some days it will be cold and windy and fighting with other riders on the bus to get to your kit is the last thing you want to do after a hard stage.
- Race buses will do a loop to all the Hotels – sometimes you will have to wait at other Hotels for riders to get on and off the bus. This is time consuming and frustrating. you could be chilling out in your room or checking out the town.
- Last year riders were required to pack their bikes into bike boxes or direct into trucks with protection for every transition – what a pain in the backside.
What Serk provides:
- Our van is waiting for you at the end of the stage. Direct access to your kit bag, warm clothes – we’ve got you covered.
- After the stage, we drive directly to the Hotel. You’ll get there before everyone else which means you have more recovery time, waste much less energy fighting, packing and unpacking and you should have a chance to go out and enjoy the local sights.
- Professional bike handling. Our drivers and staff will carefully pack your bike in our van. We have a specially fitted out 2018 pro bike van (Michelton-Scott kindly send us the drawings of the teams pro-vans for us to copy). Have a problem with the bike? we will do our best to have it sorted before the next stage.
Serk Pro Bike Van
Food / Drinks
Coffee. We bring a SegaFredo Coffee machine on tour with us. Fresh coffee in the hotel room each morning. Drink as much as you want.
Post race we will have a range of drinks available – Coke / Sports drinks / Water
Best of all we know how to eat like the locals so if you are interested in trying out the amazing local food we pick the best restaurants for post-race meals. Have special meal requirements? We can sort that out as well.
Pre/ Post Stage Support
We’ll have someone by the start line that you can hand your phone and jacket to just before the race starts. At the other end, someone will be there to show you where our van is and help you out. November in Yunnan is not warm. With 300 starters some days it is advisable to get to the start as early as possible so you are out of trouble on the front row. You might need to wait 30 minutes in the cold wind. With a support person, you can stay wrapped up and hand over your clothing moments before the start.
Sample Timetable
Nov 2nd Arrive in Kunming and transfer to Mangshi
Nov 3rd Prologue Mangshi
Nov 4th Stage 1 Mangshi - Ruili
Nov 5th Stage 2 Ruili
Nov 6th Rest Day
Nov 7th Stage 3 Gaoligong
Nov 8th Rest day
Nov 9th Stage 4 Er'Hai
Nov 10th Stage 5 Lijiang and then depart
