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If you’re staying in an Almaty hotel, you might be interested in learning a little about Kazakh society. The country and its people haven’t received much media attention in the west, outside of their misrepresentation at the hands of Sasha Baron Cohen, an occurrence that remains a sore point to this day. If you’re travelling to the country, it’s a great opportunity to discover for yourself the beauty and warmth of both the locals and the country as a whole. The epic steppes give the country a stark aesthetic that make it particularly alluring, and mean that the population enjoy spending time outdoors. For this reason the country has grown into one of the world’s strongest in the sport of road cycling:

A Country Built For Cyclists

A stay in an Almaty hotel will put you in the perfect spot to enjoy the fantastic cycling terrain that surrounds the southern portion of this vast country. The landscape has been the forge for some fantastic cyclists in recent years, and is close to becoming a favoured destination for those looking for something different in a cycling holiday. The former capital is surrounded by mountains, so it might seem a bit too ambitious for those staying in Almaty hotels who aren’t serious cyclists, but if you travel to other parts of the country you will find gradients to suit all abilities.

Kazakh Cyclists

The first Kazakh cyclist to really put the country on the map was Andrey Teteryuk, who was born in Astana in 1967. Teteryuk cycled in Europe for the Italian Aki-Gipiemme and Liquigas-Pata teams. On the international scene his greatest achievement was finishing 6th in the Men’s Individual Time Trial at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. One of the next significant cyclists on the scene was the Almaty born Alexandre Shefer, who was a professional racer from 1993 to 2003, before later working as a cycling coach for the Astana cycling team in the UCI WorldTour.

A New Era

Kazakh cycling took a major step forward during the last decade with the establishment of the Astana team as amongst the very best in the sport. The team grew from the ashes of the disgraced Liberty Seguros-Wurth Team. The team’s attachment to Alexandre Vinokourov and Andrey Kashechkin made it attractive to Kazakh investment, and the money pouring in enabled them to recruit top talent – including directeur sportif Johan Bruyneel, Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong. Contador’s time with the team saw them winning each of the three Grand Tours including the Tour de France. The team achieved popularity throughout Kazakhstan, so if you look out of the window of your Almaty hotel room, you might well see cyclists in the team’s distinctive light blue and yellow whizzing past in training mode. Catch them if you can…

Looking for an Almaty hotel? Roberta Stuart is the Travel Manager for World Hotels, a company offering the best rooms at a Almaty hotel and a selection of unique and four and five star hotels around the world.

This article was provided by LeadGenerators, the smartest online marketing agency in London, and the proud host a series of internet marketing training seminars.

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