More than 400 cyclists from 22 countries yesterday competed in this year’s King of the Mountain (KOM) Challenge race despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Danish cyclist John Ebsen, who has won the race three times, claimed another win in the men’s division, while Kuo Chia-chi (郭家齊) won the women’s division.
The number of competitors dropped from 730 last year to 425 this year, the Tourism Bureau said, adding that 103 of this year’s participants were foreigners living in Taiwan.
The bureau also reduced the top prize for the winners from NT$1 million (US$34,582) to NT$100,000 due to adjustments of budget priorities, Lin said.
The race, which is in its ninth year, has become an internationally well-known cycling competition, bureau deputy director-general Trust Lin (林信任) said, adding that it had in the past drawn many professional cyclists from Europe to compete.
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, many of the international cycling races have either been canceled or postponed, and travel restrictions led to many professional cyclists not participating in the event, Lin said.
Despite the decreases in participants and prize money, Lin said that the bureau had decided that the race should be held as scheduled, as it is part of a long-running campaign to draw international tourists.
“As the bureau is promoting next year as the ‘Year of Cycling Tourism,’ we are preparing a series of events, including a virtual KOM Challenge race. Cyclists who are unable to come to Taiwan can experience what it is like to be in the race through virtual reality technology,” he said.
French magazine Le Cycle rated the 105km race as one of the world’s toughest races, as the cyclists climb to up to 3,275m above sea level.
The most challenging part of the race is the final ascent of about 10km, where the road has a slope of 17 to 27 percent steep.
Cyclists must finish the race within six-and-a-half hours.
Additional reporting by staff writer
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
Taiwan-based publisher Li Yanhe (李延賀) has been sentenced to three years in prison, fined 50,000 yuan (US$6,890) in personal assets and deprived political rights for one year for “inciting secession” in China, China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said today. The Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court announced the verdict on Feb. 17, Chen said. The trial was conducted lawfully, and in an open and fair manner, he said, adding that the verdict has since come into legal effect. The defendant reportedly admitted guilt and would appeal within the statutory appeal period, he said, adding that the defendant and his family have