Canada, Czech Republic, China win golds in downhill mountain bike event in Yunnan

Chinese cyclists scooped three gold medals at the inaugural Longling Songshan International Mountain Bike Downhill Invitational on Thursday, in Longling county, southwest China's Yunnan Province.

Chen Yingyan, from Guangdong Province in southern China, clocked a time of 2:30.581 to win the women's mountain bike downhill title.

In the Open Men's category, Guo Xunbin from Chinese Taipei took the top prize in 1:55.512.

Guangdong cyclist Liang Jinlong prevailed in the Elite Men category in 1:45.714, closely followed by riders from Beijing and Hunan Province.

Around 100 cyclists from countries including China, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the Czech Republic took part in the event.

14-year-old Canadian cyclist Jackson Goldstone won the youth category in 1:43.474. Silver and bronze medals went to New Zealand brothers Toby and Rory Meek, with times of 1:50.24 and 1:54.22 respectively.

In the Invitation Elite group, Jiang Shengshan of Chinese Taipei just missed out on the title with a time of 1:38.272, less than half a second behind Czech rider Matej Charvat.

Located on Songshan, the competition featured five groups racing on a downhill track 1,800 meters long and 1.5 meters wide, with competitors grouped by gender, age, and skill level.

Also known as Mount Song, Songshan was the site of a key battle in 1944 during China's Anti-Japanese War.

Photo by Yin Lei

Editor: John Li