Chinese cyclist Zhang Hao claims silver in Asian Games debut

NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- China's Zhang Hao claimed a silver medal in the cycling road women's individual time trial in her debut at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Sunday.

The 26-year-old completed the 24.2-kilometer course in 36 minutes and 28.40 seconds at a mountainous venue in Shinshiro, about 80km from central Nagoya.

The course consisted of three laps of a 7.9km mountain road circuit, plus a 500-meter starting section. The individual time trial featured staggered starts, with cyclists racing against the clock individually and the fastest overall time determining the winner.

Starting third from last, Zhang took an early lead. After two laps, she was nearly 15 seconds ahead of Kazakhstan's Rinata Sultanova, who later completed the course more than four seconds faster to take the gold.

Recalling the final lap, Zhang said she struggled after a turnaround section that led into a series of sharp downhill bends.

"When you are physically exhausted, your bike-handling ability also declines. I was nervous at the time and slowed down unconsciously," she said.

Zhang's coach Liu Jiankun said the mountainous course was more technically demanding than road-race courses in China, with narrow roads, frequent climbs and descents, uneven surfaces and moss that could make the road slippery.

"The speed can reach 100km per hour, especially on downhill sections," Liu said. "When faced with that kind of fear, sometimes what the coach says over the radio is not enough. The rider needs to gain experience and grow through competition."

Liu added that Zhang's performance was in line with expectations, noting that her finishing time matched the team's pre-race estimate.

"She has challenged many new competitions in recent years, progressing from national events to the Asian stage. Her mindset has continued to mature, but improving her technique takes time," Liu said.

Zhang only began professional training in 2023. Before that, she trained on her own with the help of her father, frequently taking part in virtual cycling events and road races. She also competed in China's national road cycling championships as an individual.

After joining the Hainan Wuzhishan cycling team in 2023, Zhang went on to win titles at the national championships, the National Games of China and the Asian Road Cycling Championships.

Kazakhstan swept both cycling individual time trial gold medals on the day. After Sultanova won the women's event, her teammate Alexey Lutsenko successfully defended his men's title in 41:24.05.

China's Xue Ming finished fourth in the men's event and was visibly emotional after the race, saying he believed he had been capable of a better result.