Chinese cyclists shone in the 15th Asian Games here on Tuesday as Li Meifang and Song Baoqing collected two golds for the Chinese delegation.

The defending Asiad Champion Li clocked in 31 minutes and 17.85 seconds to be crowned in the women's individual time trial, while underdog Song Baoqing won the men's individual time trial at Al-Khor of Doha.

"I felt happy to win the first cycling gold for my country in Doha. From the beginning, I planned well and was determined to win,and I did make it," Li said.

The flat, straight 23.86km course is one for the powerful time-trial lists who can use bigger gears to power along without fear of losing momentum due to hills or turns.

"The road is good, and the surface is flat, which is good for the race," Li added.

From a three-woman breakaway group, the defending champion surged ahead early in the second lap, kept her composure and managed to maintain a significant gap, enough to keep her rivals away throughout the remainder of the race.

Zulfiya Zabirova of Kazakhstan, currently No. 14 in the UCI road rankings, got the silver in 32:10.24, and the bronze medal went to South Korean Lee Min Hye in 33:37.57.

Zabirova, who only finished sixth in women's individual road race yesterday, expressed her admiration for Li.

"The fight was between us. I have seen her several times in international competitions, but she has never performed like this," said Zabirova.

After failing to bring a gold medal for Kazakhstan, the former Russian cyclist set her eyes on 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

"It's my first medal for Kazakhstan and I feel proud. Of course,I will try to win more for Kazakhstan from now on, at world championship and in Beijing (Olympics)," added Zabirova.

Song clocked a winning time of 55 minutes 33.35 seconds for the title, taking the second cycling gold for the Chinese delegation.

Tipped as an underdog, the 25-year-old never took any international title during his 10-year professional career. Song even did not finish the men's road race two days ago.

"This is out of my expectation, I never think I will win the event. But Today I did really well. I led them from the beginning," said Song.

In Tuesday's time trial, Song demonstrated his sprinting ability from the beginning and dashed out in the last 10km to win his first Asiad gold.

"I prepared for the individual time trial for at least three months," added Song.

After taking his first Asiad gold, Song set his eyes on the Beijing Olympic Games, saying "From now on, I will concentrate on preparing for the 2008 Olympic Games, I will try my best to get a satisfied result in Beijing."

Evgeny Vakker of Kyrgyzstan took the silver in 56:16.83, while the bronze medal was taken by Andrey Mizurov of Kazakhstan in 56:51.92.

Editor: Donald