Guangyuan in Southwest China's Sichuan province launched a 3.6-km mountain bike race at a local forest park on April 10, attracting more than 60 cyclists.

Cyclists compete in a race held at Heishipo Forest Park in Guangyuan, Sichuan province on April 10. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The cyclists started tuning their bikes at Heishipo Forest Park in the early morning. At 9:20 am, the starting gun fired and they were off.

The contestants flew along the mountain trails, where uphill, downhill and continuous hairpin turns made the race both difficult and exciting.

In the end, a cyclist surnamed Zhou won first place with a time of 14 minutes and 53 seconds.

Cyclists enjoy a race held at Heishipo Forest Park in Guangyuan, Sichuan province on April 10. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The second place finisher, a man surnamed Xu, said that it felt good to challenge himself and make new friends. He encouraged more people to try cycling to stay fit and reduce their use of cars.