Dongsuh team, regarded as the best traditional team in Korean cycling, is a powerhouse overflowing with talent. With 29 athletes, Dongsuh team has more members than another strong team in the metropolitan area, Gimpo team (28 members), which includes Jeong Jong-jin (20th class, SS), or Seongseong team (26 members), which includes Im Chae-bin (25th class, SS) and Sejong team (26 members), which includes Hwang In-hyuk (21st class, S1). It has the largest scale as a single team. Currently, 23 members belong to the excellent or special selection categories and the remaining 5 selected members are of such quality that they would not be out of place being promoted immediately.
Even when looking at the roster of the team’s representative star players, it showcases its tradition. Players such as Jeon Won-kyu (22nd class, SS), Jeong Hae-min (21st class, S1), Jeong Ha-neul (21st class, S1), Shin Eun-seop (18th class, S1), and Kim Hee-joon (22nd class, S1) boast such high renown and recognition that it would not be awkward if they were to compete in the final of the special selection category and take 1st or 2nd place at any time. Moreover, Dongsuh team has consistently received praise for maintaining harmony between new and old talent as many rookies have joined the team each year.
However, looking at the recent performance of the key players from Dongsuh team raises doubts about whether it is indeed a strong team.
Jeon Won-kyu, who has emerged as a key player of Dongsuh team since 2-3 years ago, stopped Im Chae-bin's 75-game winning streak last March and performed well by finishing 3rd in the Daesang cycling event three times. However, he finished 3rd on February 9 and 5th on February 22, and on March 8, he even lost to Kim Woo-gyeom, who was rated lower, missing the opportunity for victory.
The red light is now on for the Super Special Selection (SS) position, which has been maintained since 2023. If the team loses its Super Special Selection spot in the grading evaluation at the end of June, it currently seems there will be no players from Dongsuh team to list in the Super Special Selection.
The skills of Jeong Hae-min and Jeong Ha-neul, who used to boast powerful performance with their forward running techniques, have not been as good as before. Shin Eun-seop, the team's mental pillar and winner of two Daesang cycling events last year, and Kim Hee-joon, who joined Dongsuh team at the peak of his form, are also showing disappointing performances.
Many people directly realized that a crisis has hit Dongsuh team during the Speedon Cup Daesang cycling event last February. With star players such as Jeong Hae-min, Jeong Ha-neul, Shin Eun-seop, Kim Hee-joon, and Jeon Won-kyu all participating, there were predictions that if these players reached the finals, an upset might occur instead of victories for Im Chae-bin and Jeong Jong-jin. However, all of Dongsuh team’s special selection players were humiliated, failing to pass both the preliminaries and semifinals and not having a single player advance to the finals. The outcome was so disappointing and shocking compared to the glorious history of these players who were consistently considered regulars in the finals of Daesang cycling events, marking a moment when many felt the crisis of Dongsuh team.
A silver lining amidst the misfortune is that young players in the selected and excellent categories are generally performing well.
Looking at the youngest 29th class, among the seven athletes who participated in the final of the Speedon Cup Daesang cycling event last February, four were members of Dongsuh team 29th class: Kim Jeong-woo (B1), Oh Tae-hee (B1), Jeong Yoon-hyuk (A2), and Kang Dong-joo (B1). Among them, Jeong Yoon-hyuk took 1st place, and Kang Dong-joo took 3rd place. Jeong Yoon-hyuk became the first to successfully achieve a special promotion among the 29th class with his victory.
In the 28th class right above, three members belonged to Dongsuh team: Lim Jae-yeon (A1), Song Jeong-wook (A2), and Won Jun-oh (A1), with Won Jun-oh performing the best among them. Up until the 9th round, Won Jun-oh participated in 13 races, succeeding in placing in every competition with a winning rate of 69%, a ranking rate of 85%, and a triple ranking rate of 100%, and he also achieved 2nd place in the final of the Speedon Cup Daesang cycling event. With such good skills, it seems likely he will be able to stand on the special selection stage again in the second half of this year.
Recently, Dongsuh team has been reported to be conducting training in Japan from March 11 to April 11 to overcome the crisis. This training, conducted in two groups, will see the first group, including Jeong Ha-neul (21st class, S1), Jeong Sang-min (23rd class, S2), Kwak Hyun-myeong (17th class, A1), Kim Je-young (22nd class, A1), Jeong Ha-jeon (27th class, A2), Won Jun-oh (28th class, A1), and Kim Tae-wan (29th class, A2), carry out their training in Kumamoto, Japan, while the second group, including Jeon Won-kyu (23rd class, SS), Park Kyung-ho (27th class, S2), Lee Yong-hee (13th class, A2), Jeong Yoon-jae (18th class, A1), and Lim Jae-yeon (28th class, A1), will undergo intensive training in Shizuoka, Japan.
Park Chang-hyun, publisher of the 'strongest expected cycling' remarks, noted, "It is evident that the enjoyment of cycling increases when Dongsuh team thrives," adding, "The performance of new players from Dongsuh team is encouraging, but I hope that the existing strong contenders will take this opportunity to regain the team’s former reputation as 'the 8th district of cycling' and 'the traditional powerhouse of the metropolitan area.'"
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