Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/06/24
By: Tyson Lu and Evelyn Kao
Taipei, June 24 (CNA) The father of a Japanese cyclist, who was fatally struck by
Ryoichi (front)/photo courtesy of Tzu Chi Foundation
falling rocks during a mountain biking race in Taiwan last year, followed the competitors in this year’s race on Sunday, cheering them on.
Holding a photo of his late son, the 68-year-old man named Ryoichi joined a motorcade that was accompanying the cyclists along a grueling 90 km route to an elevation of 3,275 meters in the eastern county of Hualien.
Ryoichi said he arrived in Taiwan on Saturday and went to the site of the accident to lay a wreath for his son Hiroyuki Shirai, who was killed by falling rocks on Sept. 9 last year during a practice ride in preparation for the Maxxis Taroko Climb Challenge.
Shirai’s father attended the opening of the race this year at a school campus on the Hualien coast and carried his son’s photo and competition number 221 on a bus along the route behind the competitors, passing through Taroko Gorge, Swallow Grotto Trail and the Tunnel of Nine Turns. [FULL STORY]
