Ekimov Viatcheslav (41), the team manager of Discovery Channel, Olympic Gold Medalis and 15-time Tour de France participant is singing the praises of a 29-year old Chinese, Li Fuyu.
Li is the first Chinese to rider to sign with a UCI (International Cycling Union) professional team.
The moment Li joined the Discovery Channel Team, he made huge progress says Ekimov.
Just competing with the big dawgs raises your level or causes you to be cast aside. With a foundation of any sorts...usually there is improvement.
Another Chinese, Ma Haijun, is training in Switzerland, competing often and making huge progress ...
The point...the Chinese are far behind in cycling.
The best way to learn is to get the butt's kicked.
A bigger point....the best way to improve ourselves...prepare well, then get in the fight with the big players and hang on. Improvement will come.
A year is not enough time for the Chinese to be ready for the Beijing 2008 Summer Games, but they will be closer than they might have been
Comment Preview