After a wild and stormy Stage 2 in Taoyuan City, yesterday’s Stage 3 in Changhua County saw bright sunshine — a complete contrast in weather that left riders from all nations amazed. However, Chinese Taipei’s Feng Junkai, who crashed due to a tire puncture in the previous stage, was clearly affected by his injuries. Despite strong support from his teammates at the two mountain points in this stage, his poor condition prevented him from scoring any points, leaving him almost out of reach of a fourth consecutive King of the Mountains title.
After a wild and stormy Stage 2 in Taoyuan City, yesterday’s Stage 3 in Changhua County saw bright sunshine — a complete contrast in weather that left riders from all nations amazed. However, Chinese Taipei’s Feng Junkai, who crashed due to a tire puncture in the previous stage, was clearly affected by his injuries. Despite strong support from his teammates at the two mountain points in this stage, his poor condition prevented him from scoring any points, leaving him almost out of reach of a fourth consecutive King of the Mountains title.
Feng Junkai, who crashed in the Taoyuan stage, suffered abrasions on both knees and his left thigh, and his pelvis may have been dislocated in the fall, severely impacting his performance. He felt off-form right from the start of the race. Although he had planned to secure points at the second-category mountain point at the 14km mark — with strong support from teammate Liu Shuming — he just couldn’t muster the strength and ended up with zero points. With five more mountain points available in the next two stages, he admitted with regret, “(The King of the Mountains title) is probably out of reach.”
Road race conditions can change in an instant. With Feng Junkai’s performance hampered by injury, today’s focus shifts to the Alishan Tatachia Mountain Stage, where Chinese Taipei will pin their hopes on another strong climber, Liu Shuming. He emphasized that the first three stages had taken a lot out of him, but representing Chinese Taipei means giving his best. “As long as my condition allows, I’ll aim for a top 10 finish,” he said.
The newly added Alishan Tatachia Mountain Stage in this edition of the Tour de Taiwan has its finish line at the Tatachia Visitor Center, which sits at an altitude of 2,571 meters. Even before the race began, it was widely regarded by riders from various countries as an “extremely tough section.” Leading riders, including yellow jersey holder Bevin of New Zealand’s Avanti IsoWhey Sports, have noted that the outcome of this stage could lead to a major shake-up in the overall standings.