"In Europe, they have interest in bringing Chinese riders": China Glory ex-director hopeful breakthrough is around the corner

China has around 1.4 billion citizens, 700 times more than for example Slovenia. Yet, there has been 8 Slovenians and only one Chinese rider in WorldTour in 2025. Statistically, there should be a few Chinese cyclists strong enough to ride a GrandTour but... The last time a Chinese rider rode one was over a decade ago and the future is not bright in that sense.

Isn't it weird that China doesn't have a single road cycling star? Domestique asked the manager of China Anta - Mentech team, Lionel Marie, who will be moving on to UAE Team ADQ in 2026 after four seasons with the Chinese continental team.

"Of course, there is one guy somewhere who is strong enough to be at the Tour, but we don’t know where," Marie smiled. "We have to find them, and this is the problem – where are they? Come on guys, come to us…"

One of the main obstacles road cycling faces in China, besides competition of so many other sports, is the lack of youth competition structure and very local approach to rider development which is completely in control of the individual provinces. "If one day the federation has the support of the government to do it, then everything is possible," Marie said. "The potential is big."

The team of Marie has been residing in Turkiye since its start in 2022, bringing talented riders to race in smaller races in Europe.

However in 2025, the most outstanding duo; climber Xianjing Lyu and sprinter Binyan Ma, both with victories in Turkiye next to their names, didn't even leave Asia this year. Did they stop racing? No. But their provincial federations (Yunnan and Guangdong respectively) wanted to have their stars fully ready for National Games, a quadriennal event often dubbed the "Chinese Olympics". Lyu will compete in mountain bike - a more popular discipline in China, while Ma finished 4th and both should have the freedom to return to Europe again in 2026...

"The National Games are the year after the Olympics, and in no way was it possible for me to bring all the best riders because all the provinces are fighting each other all season," Marie explains. "It means they don’t let the guys come in with us, so that was a frustration this year."

"That mindset is still there. The main goal is the Olympic Games and then it’s the National Games. For the World Championships in Rwanda, the goal was to do a good result in the mixed relay, but I had to put a guy who retired two years ago into the team. He had to restart training in June when they asked him during the national championships. It was a challenge, but we tried to do our best with what we had."

Even then, Marie can be proud of some of the team's achievements during his time with China Anta. Namedly, Lyu became the first Chinese rider to finish the Olympic Games road race last year in Paris, before winning the Asian Championships in Thailand early this season.

"Last year we wanted to get to the Olympics, and this year our main goal was to be Asian champion, so we were pretty happy with that," Marie said, though he is aware that one rider, now 27, has been carrying the entire programme at times. "Now he’s starting to be older, but Xianjing Lyu is the best Chinese rider so far."

The hope is to uncover more riders of his talent and expose them to international competition at a younger age. The Chinese national team in Guangxi featured six riders under the age of 25, including a 19-year-old climber Rongqi Zhang.

For most, it was a trial by fire to race against WorldTour professionals and so it goes without a surprise that Chinese jerseys were mostly seen in the gruppetto. But one Chinese rider left his mark on the race - the former China Anta rider who is now a part of the XDS Astana - Haoyu Su. Marie now hopes that more riders will follow in his footsteps.

"We have a few guys who have big potential, and the team is bringing more and more credibility to China," Marie said. "It also helps when former riders from the team go back to their provinces because they can explain to them how we train in Europe, so they become almost like coaches.

"But it’s a long process and we still have a lot to do, because China is so big. The provinces are very powerful, so we have to go slowly when it comes to improving coaching and training methods. In Yunnan province, for example, they built a covered track that’s a kilometre long, and they do 200k training rides on that that track. Imagine, 200 laps! You break the brains of the guys… But our guys are slowly starting to be stronger, and the staff are learning too."

"It’s a completely different culture to Europe," Marie says. "But all the bikes are made in China so now everyone wants to find a sponsor here. We get a lot of messages – 'Can you help us bring in a Chinese rider because of the market in China?' And if in Europe, they have interest in bringing Chinese riders like that, then it’s a good way to get to the Tour de France one day…"