The “Bagua Mountain Range Merida Cup Cycling Competition,” held at Qingshuiyan in Changhua, featured a 30-kilometer cross-country mountain bike race yesterday. Two Merida Europe team riders with World Cup champion titles, Hermita and Ganz, sprinted almost simultaneously to the finish line, with Hermita taking the championship, while Taiwan’s top rider Feng Chun-kai secured fourth place.
Merida Bikes has invited the Merida Europe team to perform in Taiwan for five consecutive years. However, during the hill climb race the day before, Hermita and Ganz were just participating without giving their all. Yesterday, the two riders finally showcased their true skills, demonstrating their expertise on forest trails, with Hermita crossing the finish line first.
What’s special this year is that two foreign female riders competed in the men’s elite category—one from France, Brest, and the other from the United States, Sherve. Twenty-one-year-old Brest is tall and strikingly beautiful. She has won the French Cross-Country Mountain Bike Championship and also achieved strong results in the World Mountain Bike Championships. She said, “In France, I train with male riders.”
First-time visitor to Taiwan, Brest wasn’t in top form due to unfamiliarity with the course and being in an adjustment period, finishing only 17th. However, she really enjoyed the cheering atmosphere from Taiwanese spectators along the route.
Taiwan’s top rider, Feng Chun-kai, also performed impressively. Not only is he a road cycling competitor, but he can also compete in track events, and even cross-country mountain biking is no challenge for him. This “three-discipline cycling athlete” ultimately finished fourth, with the top three spots all taken by foreign riders—truly living up to the title of “Taiwan’s No. 1.”