Taiwanese road cyclist Tu Chih-hao on Saturday won a silver medal in the men’s elite individual time trial at the Asian Road Cycling Championships in Thailand.
The 26-year-old completed two laps of the 23km course with an average speed of 49.76kph to finish second among 19 competitors in Rayong, with a time of 55 minutes, 25.722 seconds, behind Yevgeniy Fedorov of Kazakhstan.
The silver medal also earned Tu a slot in the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games, which is to be held in China from September to October.
Photo: CNA
“I’m definitely happy to clinch a berth in the Asian Games, but you always want to win as an athlete,” Tu said in a statement.
“The gold medalist performed very well in Europe, too, so I have nothing to say about losing to him, but I want to get my revenge at the Asian Games,” he added.
In addition to thanking his family and Team Taiwan staff for their support, Tu said he prepared for the Asian championships with the help of UCI WorldTeam coach Andrea Fusaz, a resource he did not have before joining Team Bahrain Victorious last year.
Instead of focusing on simulating the full route in practice, Fusaz had Tu divide the course into several sections and focus on each one individually.
Tu said he was delighted the approach proved highly effective, as he kept surpassing his limits in the time trial.
“Looking back now, there was nothing I could have done better,” Tu said.
The Dominica-born cyclist, also known as Sergio, was exposed to road racing at the age of 13 and became the second Taiwanese cyclist on a UCI WorldTeam after signing a two-year contract with Team Bahrain Victorious last year.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
RSS