From August 7 to 10, 2025, the Trans-Himalaya International Road Cycling Extreme Race was held in the Tibet Autonomous Region. As the only UCI professional race in China during August, the event has been refined over six years, attracting three UCI Continental Pro teams—Burgos-BH, Euskaltel-Euskadi, and Vini Zabù—along with eight other foreign teams and nine domestic continental teams.
This year, the race unveiled a new route that reached Shannan, a city near the borders of India and Nepal, allowing riders to experience the breathtaking G219 border highway, often called “the nation’s grand road.”
Although the four stages covered a total distance of only 420 kilometers, nearly all of the racing took place at altitudes above 3,000 meters. Combined with the professional peloton’s habit of high-paced starts and constant attacks, the event posed a severe challenge to riders’ adaptability to extreme high-altitude conditions. In past editions, many competitors relied on portable medical oxygen bottles to recover after each stage.
Among Chinese riders, two standout performances drew particular attention.
Li Chaoyi (Chengdu Continental Team) consistently held the top spot in the Greater China classification over the four days, ultimately winning the symbolic red jersey. His achievement, as a rider developed outside the traditional state sports system, validated the role of club-based training programs in nurturing talent and inspired more young cyclists to pursue professional racing.
Yang Zhibin (Qinghai Tianyoude Continental Team) delivered another highlight during the Lhasa criterium. He joined an international breakaway that lasted over 60 kilometers and, just before the peloton caught the group, launched a solo attack. This marked a rare example of a Chinese rider successfully initiating a breakaway in a domestic UCI race.
