Dream come true as Ji readies for Tour
Print Edition
JI Cheng said it will be a “dream” come true tomorrow when he becomes the first Chinese rider to compete at the Tour de France.
It will also complete a personal ambition for the 26-year-old from Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, as he will achieve the clean sweep of taking part in all three Grand Tours, following his participation at the 2012 Vuelta a Espana and last year’s Giro d’Italia.
“For me, personally, finally I did the three Grand Tours, I can say I’m the first Chinese. I’m really happy for that and also for my dream since I started cycling, so finally I got there. I’m really, really happy,” he said.
It’s been a long road for Ji, who started out as an athlete before switching to track cycling in his teens and then moving onto the road. He came to Europe eight years ago with Dutch team Purapharm before moving a year later to his current outfit, Giant-Shimano.
But he has been struggling to make his mark ever since.
“Shimano China wanted to support some Chinese racers. They wanted someone to go to a European professional team to race, to finally have a Chinese rider start the Tour de France,” Ji explained. “I’m lucky they called me and said: ‘There’s a chance, you’re young and good for road biking’.”
Things have not necessarily got any easier since then as Ji is now married but hardly ever sees his wife.
“It’s a hard life, I have a family but they stay in China, my wife also,” he said.
“Sometimes, like last year, I went back for one and a half months to stay in China, where we also had some races.
“It’s hard actually. Personally I’d really like my wife to come to Europe.”
But all the sacrifices will seem worth it for Ji once he sits on the start line in Leeds, Britain, tomorrow.
He will be a pioneer and he’s hoping his example will inspire others to take up cycling as a profession and try to emulate his feats in making it to the biggest races.
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