Taiwanese cycling star Feng Chun-kai successfully defended his title as the King of the Mountains in the 2013 International Tour de Taiwan yesterday, setting a record as the first rider in the event’s history to win the King of the Mountains crown two years in a row!
With Atayal Indigenous heritage, Feng Chun-kai relied on his teammates' support to pull off this seemingly impossible feat of defending his title. Delighted, he said, “This is a result for the team, and it also shows them that a young guy from Taiwan has real talent!” Ah Kai is the first Taiwanese rider to join Hong Kong’s Champion System, a UCI ProTeam (second-tier). He’s preparing to gain the highly sought-after racing experience on the intense competition stage provided by this team, carrying great pressure as Taiwan’s top cyclist.
Feng Chun-kai said, “There was a lot of pressure at the start of this year’s Tour de Taiwan. I also fell behind in the second stage at Guan-zi-ling, but luckily, I still managed to take the King of the Mountains title.” This year’s King of the Mountains title was especially hard-won for Feng Chun-kai because, as a newcomer to the team, he had to consider his stronger teammates and execute the team strategy carefully. Unlike last year, when he said, “I could just rely on my own efforts and go all out.”
Champion System coach Willy said, “Feng Chun-kai is young, humble, eager to learn, and has strong climbing skills. He has the potential to become an all-around rider by competing in major races.”
Yesterday’s sixth stage of the Tour de Taiwan, held in New Taipei City, saw multiple crashes along the North Coast Highway. In the end, French rider Jérôme Gilbert of Team La Pomme Marseille won the stage. The finish line of the sixth stage was at the Línshān Bí (Beaver’s Nose) Recreation Area on the North Coast, where a large group of 51 riders sprinted for the win, knocking three riders from Australia, Malaysia, and other countries off the road and causing injuries. Despite their pain, the injured riders pedaled back to the finish line, earning warm applause from the spectators.
Jérôme Gilbert of Team La Pomme Marseille seized the initiative and crossed the finish line first with a time of 2 hours, 37 minutes, and 51 seconds. The 27-year-old Gilbert was formerly a mountain bike racer but switched to road cycling after a serious crash. He said, “It’s an honor to win the first stage of this year’s race.”