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Transilvania Bike Trails Race (TBT Race), a Cross Country (MTB) cycling competition starting at Saschiz, this year in its 8th edition, has contributed to the development of industry and services in the areas covered by the event, from accommodation establishments and local gastronomy, to bicycle rental companies, servicing, animal husbandry and vegetable growing.
The objective of this annual competition, organised by the NoMad Multisport Sports Club and the ADEPT Transilvania Foundation, is to promote the network of bicycle routes that connect the Saxon villages in the Tarnava Mare area with Sighisoara, such as Viscri, Mesendorf, Crit, Cloasterf, Bunesti and Saschiz.
"The first official edition of the competition was in 2014 in Viscri, having been preceded by two more editions dedicated to children in the TBT Race areas. Now, the competition starts at Saschiz, a settlement with larger infrastructure that can accommodate a larger number of participants. Transilvania Bike Trails Race has three different trails (long - over 70 km, medium - over 42 km and short - over 20 km), which cover both specially arranged areas of the network, as well as grassy hills, forest roads, streets in the villages of Viscri, Mesendorf, Crit, Cloasterf, Bunesti, Saschiz, and also crosses the courtyards of fortified churches and the Peasant Citadel of Saschiz. The event has also brought economic development to the area. Now, at this year's edition, accommodation was fully booked from Rupea to Medias," ADEPT Transilvania Foundation of Saschiz official Ben Mehedin tells AGERPRES.
He says that, from an economic point of view, this festival generates substantial income for the area, as the TBT Race brings together several thousand people, professional and amateur bikers, Agerpres.
"Even new initiatives have appeared, besides accommodation: campsites have appeared, bicycle rental activities have appeared, because there are some who participate in the contest and rent their bicycles. So there are private initiatives for obtaining income generated or inspired by this contest. There is also local gastronomy, because the participants can enjoy the food cooked here by the locals. Transylvania is a place of communion between different ethnic groups, different religions, different gastronomic styles, all of which have interfered and from which mix the visitor has only to gain, because it enriches personal experiences. And the gastronomic experience is an important one, because it speaks everyone's language," says Mehedin.
In order to support the local gastronomy in the Saschiz area, the "Hills of Transylvania" private initiative has led to the development of animal husbandry, especially the breeding of beef cattle, and organic crops have gained more and more ground.
"This year, at the Transilvania Bike Trails Race, we had Angus and Limousin beef stew made of beef cattle that appeared in Scotland and France, but we have acclimatised them here. Not us, personally, but private initiatives under the Hills of Transylvania have done so that the meat of the cattle bred on the meadows of Transylvania, which are unique in the world, has also become unique as a result," the ADEPT official pointed out.
