The "MAXXIS (Maxxis) Taroko International Mountain Bike Race" will be held on November 20. On the 9th, Japanese riders gathered at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan in Tokyo for a send-off event. Japanese cycling champions such as Shingo Fukushima, winner of the Japan Cycling Road Race Championships, attended and shared their thoughts on facing the high-level challenge of Taroko.
Shingo Fukushima, 39, is a well-known Japanese cycling athlete. He is the champion of this year’s Taiwan Cycling Round-the-Island Race and also the champion of last year’s Japan Cycling Road Race Championships. In an interview, Fukushima said that he also participated in this race last year but only finished fourth, and this year he hopes to win the championship.
Fukushima said that the Taroko race route has many slopes, which is an unknown challenge for Japanese riders—an interesting yet difficult course. The air is great, but it feels like no matter how much you breathe, it’s never enough. At the start, you can still enjoy the magnificent scenery along the way, but it gets tougher as you go on. Moreover, the speed of Taiwan’s amateur riders is astonishing. He plans to offer other Japanese riders some advice on pacing and other strategies, hoping more riders will make it to the finish line.
At the speech, Saika Yasushi, the chairman of this year’s organizing committee, said that although this mountain bike race was first held in Taroko, Hualien last year, this year should have been the second edition. However, in honor of the centennial of the founding of the Republic of China, this year has been designated as the first official championship. Additionally, to express gratitude for Taiwan’s donations following the 311 earthquake, all Japanese riders will be wearing "Thank You Taiwan" T-shirts during the race.