Russian Alexander, a cyclist from Omnibike Dynamo Moscow Team, won the first session of 2006 Tour of Hainan in China on Sunday.

The first session started from Haikou, the capital city of China's Hainan island, and ended in Wenchang, a small city 141 kilometers away from Haikou.

Chinese cyclist Li Fuyu became the first of the Asian athletes to complete the session.

Ninety-one cyclists from 16 teams of China and other countries and regions took part in the 2006 Tour of Hainan, which covers 860 kilometers in six days.

The total award for the tour is US$100,000 and US$18,000 will be for the champion.

"The level of this tour is not very high, but the competition was very tough, and all the cyclists rode at their best." said Zhao Jinshan, a Chinese referee of the tour.

(Xinhua News Agency November 13, 2006)