September 04, 2008	Thursday	Ramazan 3, 1429

LAHORE, Sept 3: Seven foreign teams have confirmed their participation in the 14th Tour de Pakistan cycle race to be held from Nov 16 to 28.

Pakistan Cycling Federation (PCF) secretary Idris Haider Khawaja, said on Wednesday that the countries namely India, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Iran and Nepal had sent their confirmation to the PCF.

Idris, said the race would start from Karachi on Nov 16 and after passing through different cities it will conclude in Peshawar on Nov 28.

The cyclists will cover a total distance of about 1700 kilometers in 11 stages.

He said it was the regular feature of the PCF, being held every two years.

He said special instructions had been given to the local cyclists to start tough training from right now to give a tough challenge to the foreign cyclists.

He said the confirmation of seven countries was a positive sign for the country in view of the fact that foreign teams were reluctant to visit due to security concerns.