Igor Makarov backs Mayflower Gran Prix as Cyprus raises its cycling profile

The former professional cyclist and longtime cycling sponsor is supporting the two-day Limassol race as organizers look to build an international event around Cyprus’s growing cycling community. When cyclists roll out from Limassol on October 31 for the opening stage of the Mayflower Gran Prix Cyprus 2026, one of the names behind the event will be familiar well beyond the island’s amateur racing circuit. Igor Makarov, the Cyprus-based entrepreneur, former professional cyclist, and longtime supporter of the sport, is sponsoring this year’s Gran Prix, a two-day competition organized by INEX Club on October 31 and November 1. The sponsorship adds another chapter to Makarov’s unusually long relationship with cycling. Before becoming a businessman and sponsor, he competed internationally himself. Later, he backed a professional World Tour team and spent years involved in the sport’s international governance. His more recent cycling activity has increasingly centered on Cyprus. That makes his role in the Mayflower Gran Prix different from the conventional relationship between an event and a corporate sponsor. Makarov is supporting a sport in which he has participated as an athlete, team founder, administrator, and, now, local patron. “Cycling has been part of my life for nearly five decades. I have seen the sport from many perspectives, as an athlete, a team founder and sponsor, and through international cycling governance,” Makarov shares. “This is why all the more I am pleased to continue supporting its development here in Cyprus.” For Makarov, the current priority is to help create opportunities for people in Cyprus to discover the sport and compete, while giving international riders another reason to experience the island. Inside the Mayflower Gran Prix 2026 Now entering its third edition, the Mayflower Gran Prix is being positioned as more than a closed competition for experienced racers. The field is expected to include amateur cyclists, newcomers to racing, and more experienced competitors from Cyprus and abroad. Twelve age categories–six for men and six for women–are intended to broaden the competitive field. The first day will take riders over a 70-kilometer course beginning in Limassol, running through Agios Theodoros and Zygi, before finishing at Monte Caputo. The route combines varied terrain with stretches along Cyprus’s southern coastline. Competition shifts to Limassol’s New Port area on November 1 for a 30-kilometer circuit race. An awards ceremony and event celebration will follow. Organizers are also putting greater emphasis this year on the event’s connection to Cyprus itself. The Gran Prix’s new concept draws on elements of Cypriot history, craftsmanship, and landscape, including the ancient Pomos Idol and Lefkaritika lace. That approach reflects a broader ambition behind the race: to make the island part of the event’s identity rather than simply the place where the competition takes place. A Finish Line Village for riders, families, and spectators will add a social component to the weekend, giving the Gran Prix some of the characteristics increasingly associated with mass-participation cycling events: competition at the center, but a broader gathering around it. From One Cyclist to Another Makarov’s involvement in the race brings a professional-cycling connection to what remains a relatively young event. From 1979 to 1986, he competed as a member of the USSR national cycling team and took part in international competition, earning the title of International Master of Sports. After leaving professional competition and moving into business, he maintained his involvement with cycling. He founded and sponsored KATUSHA, the Swiss-registered professional cycling team that competed at the World Tour level from 2009 until 2019. The project placed Makarov on the other side of professional sport: instead of racing, he was financing and developing a team operating at cycling’s highest international level. Makarov also served on the Management Committee of the Union Cycliste Internationale, cycling’s world governing body, from 2011 to 2025. In 2016, the UCI presented him with its Merit Award in Doha in recognition of his contribution to the sport. In Cyprus, Makarov’s involvement has taken a more local turn. At the Cyprus Cycling Federation’s awards in 2025, he received the Aristides Konstantinidis Award, a distinction established in honor of Cyprus’s first Olympic champion. The federation recognized his contribution to the development of cycling on the island. The progression is notable: international competition gave way to professional team sponsorship and sports governance, followed by a growing emphasis on participation and on cycling infrastructure closer to home. A Vision Bigger Than Competition Makarov has supported the 2024 to 2025 Gran Prix events in Limassol, as well as some cycling initiatives for younger riders. Earlier charity rides, backed by Makarov and ARETI International Group, helped raise funds for bicycles, helmets, protective equipment, and training gear for aspiring cyclists. However, the Mayflower Gran Prix represents a different proposition. Rather than concentrating primarily on fundraising, it puts organized competition at the center. In doing so, the event attempts to create a bridge between cyclists who ride recreationally and those accustomed to formal racing. For Cyprus, that distinction could matter. The island already has many of the basic factors sought by cyclists: a long riding season, significant elevation changes over relatively short distances, coastal roads, and a compact geography. Turning those natural advantages into a stronger cycling identity, however, also requires events, clubs, and repeat participation. An annual race capable of attracting returning riders from abroad can become part of that infrastructure. The Mayflower Gran Prix is still modest compared with established European cycling fixtures, and its long-term reach will depend on participation and its ability to build year after year. However, Makarov believes that Gran Prix’s third edition offers organizers and cyclists another opportunity to establish continuity, something particularly important for sporting events competing for attention on an increasingly crowded international calendar. 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