China's first go at Olympic men's road cycling came to an abrupt end yesterday when Zhang Liang failed to finish the 248km competition against elite international riders.
It may have been a bitter lesson to learn, but Zhang believes it will make him a much better rider further down the road.
"I tried my best I promise you," he said. "I tried to follow the peloton in the first 100km, but coming into the mountains I felt the intensity was too much for me.
"But the experience will be valuable. As a Chinese rider, we don't have too many chances to race with those cyclists who participated in the Tour de France, so I think I've learned a lot today, though it wasn't a really pleasant day."
The 25-year-old Zhang is a two-time National Championships runner, but was simply too weak to prove himself in front of Tour de France champion Carlos Sastre and other top-level riders.
Having stuck with the peloton for the first 120km, Zhang was dropped after heading into the climbing session between Juyongguan and the Badaling section of the Great Wall. He never caught up.
Former Discovery Channel Team racer Li Fuyu won China's original cycling berth by finishing fourth at the Team Sprint Event in the Netherlands last year.
But Zhang, who had not achieved anything of note in international tournaments, was selected by the Chinese Cycling Association to become the rider written into history books.
Li, who was instead offered a coaching position at the Games, said high-level competition like this is exactly what China needs to be competitive in the future.
"Competing in such races makes you understand where you are," Li said. "It's a pity Zhang didn't finish the race on home soil, but I think he can do it some day as long as he is able to participate in international races a couple more times in the future."
China's remaining hopes for a cycling medal lie 80km south of the Great Wall at the Laoshan Velodrome, where track cyclists Guo Shuang and Li Yan will begin their battles next week. Chinese women's mountain bikers Ren Chengyuan and Liu Ying are also gold-medal favorites after winning several World Cup stops over the past few years.
Daniel Morelon, the French coach of the China track teams, reckons the women have a good chance to win at least one medal. But for the men, he said, "a spot in the top 10 in any discipline will be considered a success".
Li Fuyu, an international cycling veteran, insists international exposure is the key to improving China's lackluster men's cycling.
"You have to compete in professional circuits around the world, otherwise, there is no chance to move up for us," he said.
"Feeling the cycling environment in Europe has been very important for me. I am trying to bring it back home and make it benefit all my Chinese teammates."
(China Daily August 11, 2008)