URUMQI, June 12 (Xinhua) -- For elderly Kazakh herder Burlik Kangjebay, riding on horseback is the best way to trek from Wenquan county to the Sayram Lake. But his son Tursunjan Burlik, 21, prefers to use the winding mountain road as a cycling track.
Leaving the flocks behind and instead choosing to be a cyclist, Tursunjan has forsaken the herding life of his ancestors on the grasslands in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Earlier this month, the young herdsman has just participated in the 11th Tour of Sayram Lake, a national road bicycle race for amateur cyclists.
Born in the pastoral area near the Sayram Lake, Tursunjan has spent his childhood on horseback.
"As a child, I didn't realize that it would be a bicycle, not a horse, that would carry me ahead," he says.
Tursunjan's hometown, Wenquan County, has held the national cycling race for the past decade.
It was always happy memories for little Tursunjan when he watched the event. Every year he cheered for the athletes beside the racing track, envying the dashing cyclists and their flashy costumes.
"Cycling seemed really cool to me," Tursunjan recalls.
His life changed in 2012, when he received a gift from his father-- a mountain bike. He loved it so much that he began to ride it tirelessly.
Two years later, he entered into the Tour of Sayram Lake, this time as an athlete who was ready to compete with the contestants he had once envied.
But his first race didn't go well. He fell, and watched others overtake him in dismay.
That failure didn't dampen his determination. He later met his first coach Zhao Yong, who has taken part in every Tour of Sayram Lake, and was given a lot of advice.
"The boy has a gift and works hard," says Zhao, "Compared with others who give up halfway, he is a little bit stubborn."
Burlik didn't approve of his son's choice until the cyclist claimed his first title in an amateur race in Xinjiang. Local media coverage of his champion son encouraged him to lend his approval.
Since entering college, Tursunjan has taken part in races across the country. The dozens of titles under his belt have made him more confident of his chances of becoming a professional athlete.
He has since decided to take a year off school so that he can focus on training.
Tursunjan ended up in eighth place in the just-concluded Tour of Sayram Lake, his best result since he started competing in in the event. But he says that in the long term, he has his sights set on the podium.
"I need to work harder on my sprint and attack," he says.
He says every time when he rides to the lakeside of Sayram, he feels something more than just what comes with having completed a training goal; he also arrives at a most sacred place in his heart, the place where his cycling dream was born.
