Pedal power gives Universiade universal youth appeal

With a two-month tour of 23 universities behind them, a 12-strong team of student cyclists and their supporters completed their marathon 5,500 km ride and rolled into Shenzhen earlier this month. Their epic trip kicked off in Beijing, scene of the 2008 Olympics, in mid-May and has been one of the most high-profile sporting promotional events in the lead-up to the Universiade Shenzhen 2011.

At the core of the team were 12 college students, selected from over 800 nationwide applicants. They were joined in their testing two-wheel trek by a number of volunteers from some of China's finest sporting academies. For a number of the perspiring pedallers, Shenzhen represents little more than a rest stop before they are off to Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, for the ceremonial handover of the Universiade flag.

For many the east European visit comes in the wake of an inter-city cycling odyssey that has already taken them to campuses in municipalities of Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai as well as to 11 provinces - Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Shanxi, Anhui, Hubei, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Hunan and Guangdong.