Park Geon-su (29th class, S3, Gimpo), the top graduate of the 29th class of the Cycling Training Center, succeeded in winning the final of the 20th Gwangmyeong Excellent Class on the 11th, achieving special promotion and moving up to the special class.

Since another candidate for special promotion, Kwak Hyun-myung (17th class, S3, Dongseoul), also participated in the final at that time, attention was drawn to the championship match between the two players and whether both would succeed in special promotion. In the end, Park Geon-su, who took the lead and launched an offensive, succeeded in winning while shaking off the pursuit of Kwak Hyun-myung, who was marking him, and Kwak Hyun-myung, who finished second, also succeeded in re-entering the special class.

Park Geon-su, who is not from a cycling background but from speed skating, stood out among the 29th rookies compared to other non-player champions like Park Byeong-ha (13th class, A1, Changwon Sangnam), who won the Grand Prix, and In Chi-hwan (17th class, SS, Gimpo), who continues to perform well in the super special class even at the age of 42.

However, Park Geon-su's first appearance was disappointing. In his debut on January 17, he boldly attempted to take the lead but allowed a succession of reversals by Kim Je-young (22nd class, A1, Dongseoul), Jeong Tae-yang (23rd class, A3, Sejong), and Park Ji-woong (26th class, A2, Shinsa), finishing in fourth place. The next day, on the 12th, he achieved his first victory by taking the lead, but on the last day, the 13th, he was caught by Kim Hyun-kyung (11th class, A1, Daejeon Doan) while again attempting a lead win and finished in second place. Although he received evaluations that he has excellent leading ability, he ended up with just one victory by taking the lead, not in the actual competition.

Compared to the performances of the top finishers from the 27th class, Son Kyung-su (27th class, S3, Susung) and Son Je-yong (28th class, S1, Susung), who both comfortably achieved three consecutive wins starting from their first appearances on January 8, 2023, and January 14, 2024, respectively, the results of the top finisher Park Geon-su of the 29th class were rather poor.

Park Geon-su could not help but be conscious of the comparisons with existing non-player strong competitors or top graduates. It is said that he carefully checked how his seniors performed in races through videos and how long it took them to be promoted. Feeling that his skills were lacking, Park Geon-su committed himself to training. He tried to calmly manage his attitude toward the competition and approach the races carefully.

However, as a non-player with significantly insufficient practical experience, Park Geon-su finished in third place in the Gwangmyeong 6th Excellent Class final held on February 9, being too lax in pursuing Kim Jun-cheol (28th class, A1, Cheongju)'s lead, and was caught by Kwak Hyun-myung while attempting to take the lead. He also recorded seventh place in the Speedon Trophy cycling final held immediately after that, as he could not execute a proper lead strategy while racing from behind the Gimpo team.

After receiving two strong vaccinations, Park Geon-su charged forward without hesitation from April. On April 6, he succeeded in winning his first final at the Busan Mayor's Cup special cycling competition, overcoming his teammate Kim Min-ho (25th class, A1, Gimpo), and added another three wins in Changwon from the 25th to the 27th. He then continued with three consecutive wins in Gwangmyeong 19th (May 9-11), running nine consecutive victories and securing the 'red pants,' a symbol of the special class.

Park Geon-su expressed his ambitions, saying, "When I wanted to quit exercising due to concerns about my abilities while skating, my coach recommended that I enter the cycling world, and I became a cycling player with the help of my senior Um Jeong-il (19th class, S2, Gimpo), who was a junior of my sister who was a cycling athlete. I am currently continuing a lot of training, and my physical condition is good, so for the time being, I want to be recognized by the existing strong players with my own ability. I know I still have many shortcomings, but I expect to move up to the super special class within the next 2 to 3 years as I train hard together with the player Jung Jong-jin (20th class, SS, Gimpo), who I look up to as a role model. Naturally, I also have a desire to win the Grand Prix, and I am confident about it."

Park Jin-soo, the Head of Team of 'Cycling Doctor,' noted, "Park Geon-su has innate explosiveness reminiscent of Park Byeong-ha, who won the Grand Prix in 2013 as a non-player. As stated in the interview, if he focuses on becoming prominent primarily through leading for the time being and strengthens his endurance, he is surely a candidate to follow in the footsteps of Lim Chae-bin (25th class, SS, Susung) and Jung Jong-jin (22nd class, SS, Gimpo)."

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