Chinese athletes sweep titles in long distance Bicycle and Running Challenge

HOHHOT, China, July 2 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese athletes clinched all four titles up for grabs in the 2023 Prairie King Bicycle and Running Challenge held in West Ujimqin Banner, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Sunday.

By tallying times from both running and cycling events, Wang Lidong and Bi Jiaojie claimed their respective men's and women's Prairie King titles in the mountain group, while Zhang Junjie and Xu Meiling took their men's and women's crowns in the road group.

"What struck me most during the two-day competition was the beautiful scenery, which gave me immense motivation. I felt utterly exhausted in the last few kilometers, but all my efforts paid off," said Zhang.

Formerly known as the Temujin International Prairie Bicycle Challenge and Marathon Extreme Race, the event made a comeback after a four-year hiatus, introducing new categories and routes. It drew the attention of over 600 long-distance runners and cycling enthusiasts from over 20 countries and regions, including the United States, Britain, Sweden, India and Australia.

The cycling challenge unfolded on Sunday, with competitions in three categories: 124-kilometer road cycling, 124-km mountain cycling and 47-km mountain cycling.

Huang Tianyi won the men's 124-km road cycling event, finishing in three hours, 44 minutes and 25 seconds, while Cui Qian emerged victorious in the women's category over the same distance, clocking 4:18:47.

Otgen Bajard and Li Si finished first in the men's and women's 124-km mountain cycling events, while the men's and women's 47-km mountain cycling events were won by He Wei and Zhao Haiyan, respectively.