Skip to content

Four days of stage racing across the Silk Road heartland

Grand Prix Samarkand

A young stage race in Central Asia where the route and the field are still finding their identity together.

Open 2026 edition Winners
Location
🇺🇿 Uzbekistan
When
Mid April
Course
Stage Race
Most recent winner
🇰🇿 Alexey Lutsenko (2025)
Category
Men’s Continental

About Grand Prix Samarkand

Grand Prix Samarkand is a men's cycling stage race held in Uzbekistan each April. Run over four days on the continental calendar, it brings international racing to one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and gives Central Asian stage racing a distinctive cultural backdrop.

Samarkand has hosted conquerors and traders for more than two millennia. Professional cycling is the newest arrival.

This is stage racing in a part of the world where the professional calendar is still being written. The race draws a mix of continental teams, regional squads, and riders looking for early-season form in less familiar terrain. Samarkand itself carries weight: a crossroads city on the Silk Road, framed by desert and mountains, where the light and the architecture feel older than the sport.

Grand Prix Samarkand winners

YearWinner
2025Alexey Lutsenko
2024Yevgeniy Fedorov

2026 edition

This edition is complete.

Grand Prix Samarkand route

The route typically mixes flat transition stages with at least one climbing test in the surrounding hills, though the exact profile varies year to year as organizers refine the parcours. Wind can be a factor on exposed valley roads, and the general classification is usually decided by whoever handles the climbing stage best and avoids trouble on the flatter days. Time bonuses at stage finishes often matter more than pure climbing strength. Expect sprint opportunities, but also expect the race to reward riders who can read a small field and position well when the road tilts up.

What shapes the race

  1. Race type

    One-day race in Uzbekistan along the ancient Silk Road.

  2. Calendar position

    Part of the expanding Central Asian racing calendar.

Signature landmarks

The ancient city of Samarkand provides the backdrop.

  1. City

    Samarkand

    One of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central Asia, on the ancient Silk Road.

History

Eras and records

Professional cycling on the Silk Road.

  1. Heritage

    A newer addition to the UCI calendar, bringing professional cycling to Central Asia.