Three extreme sports fans are preparing for a bike trial contest on December 31 inside Shanghai's Jin Mao Tower, the third highest building in the world.
China's cyclist Zhang Jincheng (center) with riders from Andorra and Colombia pose in front of the Jin Mao Tower on. The trio will attempt to reach the top of the 88-storied tower on their bicycles on December 31 and set a Guinness world record.
The race will start from the B2 floor of the skyscraper, reaching the 88th floor, covering 2008 stairs on a 348.8 vertical meters course, Shanghai News website reported.
When ascending the stairs, the competitors will ride on their bicycles and manage to "stand" on the wheels.
Touching the ground or the wall with their body will cost a 5-point deduction, and the one with the least penalty will win the race.
In case of a deuce, the title will go to the fastest climber.
The three participants are: Zhang Jincheng from China, Javier Zapata from Columbia, and a mountain cycling master from Andorra.
Zhang Jincheng, 24, had conquered the tallest building on the Chinese mainland once last year. He took about 100 minutes to complete the ride of 1958 stairs, thus setting a Guinness world record.
Colombian cyclist Zapata overcame Torre Mayor, the tallest building in Latin America, in 2003. The Andorran cyclist rode up the Eiffel Tower's 1,374 stairs in Paris in 2004 to set a record at the time.
(CRI August 11, 2007)