DOHA, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- With two top Asian cyclists absent from the Doha Asian Games, Chinese riders saw a chance to strike gold in Sunday's men's road event.
"Kazakhstan's Alexandre Vinokourov and Andrey Kashechkin did not come to Doha, which is definitely good news for us, " said Chinese cycling head coach Cai Jiadong.
Cai tipped Chinese Li Fuyu as a title favorite, adding his challengers might be his teammate Song Baoqing and Iran's Ghader Mizbani Iranagh.
"In the 2006 UCI Asian Tour, Li placed first, followed by Mizbani. If things go well, I believe Li will beat Mizbani," added Cai.
According to Cai, the flat and fast Corniche course will made breakaways difficult to happen, a good thing for Chinese cyclists who normally trained in that condition.
"The course here is in some way like those in south China's Hainan Province, in which Li just came back from a road race, " said Cai.
Li, a rider of China's Continental Team Marco Polo, is the first Chinese to join an International Cycling Union (UCI) Pro Tourteam and he has raced in the top three cycling events in the world- Tour de France, Tour de Spain and Giro'd Italia.
"For the Asian Games, I have no other goals than to win a gold medal," said Li.
After winning in the Chinese National Games in October last year, Li had a successful 2006 campaign.
He won the GP Westfalen in Germany and the Tour of Thailand, the first time a Chinese rider emerged as an overall winner in an international pro race.
The Asian Games cycling competition will run from December 3 to14. The 21-strong Chinese team will compete in all 17 cycling events.
