Yuan wins thriller by 3 seconds as China takes 4th straight men's cross-country gold

China's Yuan Jinwei came from behind to win the men's mountain bike cross-country race at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Friday, finishing in one hour, 25 minutes and 15 seconds, just three seconds ahead of Japan's Tatsuumi Soejima.

Indonesia's Feri Yudoyono took bronze, 26 seconds behind Yuan. China's other rider, Lyu Xianjing, finished seventh in 1:28:09.

Fourteen riders from eight countries and regions contested the eight-lap, 29.6km race at Obata Ryokuchi Park. Yuan was fourth after the opening lap and slipped to fifth by the end of lap three, 15 seconds off the lead. He posted the fastest fourth lap in 10:22, cutting the gap to two seconds, and moved into first place by the end of lap six.

The lead changed hands again on the final lap. Yudoyono was first through the opening intermediate timing point before Soejima took the lead at the second. Yuan regained first place at the third, where he and Soejima were both shown with a cumulative time of 1:21:56. Yuan held on to cross the finish line three seconds ahead.

Yuan said the earlier exchanges had failed to create a gap, so he conserved his energy over the final two laps and waited for a chance to pass. "I had to find a slightly wider section in the final half lap and make the overtake," he said. After winning silver at the Hangzhou Asian Games, Yuan added that he had come to Japan determined to give everything and leave with no regrets.

Yuan also thanked teammate Lyu for his support. Official lap data showed that Lyu recorded the fastest times on laps three and five. Yuan said Lyu crashed after colliding with another rider while helping him and was taken to hospital for checks on a back injury. According to Yuan, the injury did not appear serious at the time.

Yuan's victory gave China its fourth consecutive Asian Games gold in the men's mountain bike cross-country event.