Canadian cyclist Guillaume Boivin stands on the center of the podium after winning the prologue time trial of the Tour of Taihu Lake in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, on Oct 10. [Photo/chinadaily]

One of China's biggest cycling events got underway in Wuxi, Jiangsu province on Oct 10, as the city hosted the opening race of the Tour of Taihu Lake 2017.

The annual tour includes stages in nine different cities lining the shores of Taihu Lake in East China, with Wuxi hosting the first race each year.

The tour was first held in 2010 and has since grown into one of the country's most popular cycling events and an important fixture on the UCI Asia Tour calendar.

An international peloton comprising 144 riders from eight UCI professional continental teams and 16 continental teams will take part in this year's tour, competing for a whopping total prize fund of $300,000.

The tour opened with the 5.4 km prologue time trial in Wuxi's Binhu district, with Canadian Guillaume Boivin taking first place.

Romania's Serghei Tvetcov finished second, less than one second behind Boivin, while New Zealand's Morgan Smith had to settle for third place.

Tomorrow the teams will begin the first stage of the tour—a grueling 112-kilometer course running the length of Wuxi, which passes by many of the city's scenic spots including Lihu Lake, Linshan Grand Buddha and Longtouzhu Park.

The contestants will cycle a combined distance of 870.4 kilometers over the course of the tour.