Taiwanese cyclist
Feng Chun-kai (Chinese: 馮俊凱; pinyin: Féng Jùnjiā; born November 2, 1988) is a Taiwanese professional road and track cyclist.[3] He represented his nation Taiwan, as a 19-year-old, at the 2008 Summer Olympics and later won numerous medals in track cycling, specifically in the men's points race and individual pursuit, at the Asian Championships. Feng has also claimed five Taiwanese national titles in road cycling, and a prestigious gold medal at the 2013 East Asian Games in Tianjin
Racing career
Feng was born in Miaoli County. Considered one of Taiwan's most promising cyclists in his generation, Feng sought headlines on the international scene as he outsprinted Japanese duo Kazuhiro Mori and defending champion Makoto Iijima for the gold medal in men's point race at the 2007 Asian Cycling Championships in Bangkok, Thailand.[4]
Signifying an official start of his cycling career, Feng qualified for the Chinese Taipei squad in the men's points race at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing by receiving a wild card invitation from the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).[4][5] Feng dropped out of a grueling 25-km sprint race in a field of twenty-three cyclists after he slowed down his own pace on the track with only one extra lap needed to complete and a deduction of twenty points.[6][7]
Feng slowly emerged as a solid, all-around road and track rider, when he earned his first ever Taiwanese national road race title in 2009, and eventually mounted a fifth-place finish at the East Asian Games. By the following year, he joined with the Action Cycling Team as a professional and signed for three seasons in an exclusive contract.[8]
In 2011, Feng established a historic milestone in pro cycling as the first ever Asian rider to score three consecutive stage triumphs and grab the yellow jersey and a prestigious tournament title at the International Cycling Classic in the Midwest region of the United States.[9][10]
While still competing for the Action Cycling Team on his final season in the road race, Feng redrafted his efforts to chase for another medal again in the track cycling scene. At the 2012 Asian Cycling Championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Feng ended his five-year drought by edging out Thailand's Turakit Boonratanathanakorn and home favorite Harrif Saleh on a sprint ride for the gold in the men's elite 10-kilometre (6.2-mile) scratch race.[11]
In early 2013, Feng joined his fellow Olympic riders Zachary Bell of Canada and Wu Kin San of Hong Kong for the Champion System pro cycling team. Feng started his initial season by participating in the Tour de Taiwan, where he took top honors in the mountain classification to secure the jersey.[12][13] Feng also reclaimed his fourth Taiwanese national road race title, and added the time trial title to his resume for the first time, since he won three straight championships from 2009 to 2011.[14] In October 2013, Feng picked up his gold medal on the strength of an early lead in the men's road race at the East Asian Games in Tianjin, China.[15][16]
In November 2014 Feng was announced as a signing for the Lampre–Merida team for the 2015 season, becoming the first Taiwanese rider to race on the UCI World Tour.[17]
Feng placed third in the 2019 Asian Road Cycling Championships, and qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics. He became the first Taiwanese cyclist to qualify for the Olympic men's road cycling event since Chen Chih-hao in 1996.[18]
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