Chinese cycling enthusiasts casting their eyes over the start-line of the Tour de France in Barcelona on July 4th would surely have felt disappointed.(中国自行车爱好者若将目光投向7月4日环法巴塞罗那站的起跑线，定会感到失望。) In 2014, Ji Cheng, the first from China to compete in the race, collected the questionable distinction of(获得了有争议的殊荣) the lanterne rouge(红灯笼：环法最后一名), awarded for last place. China has not returned to the Tour since. Even so, the country is playing an increasingly important role in the sport.
中国自行车爱好者若在7月4日环法自行车赛巴塞罗那站发车线前驻足观望，定会感到失望。2014年，首位参赛的中国人计成收获了颇具争议的“红灯笼”称号，该奖项颁给最后一名。自此中国再未重返环法。尽管如此，中国在该运动中的地位日益重要。
Roughly 60% of the world’s bikes are made in China. Yet although it supplies parts for many Western brands, including premium ones such as Pinarello, its own models have frequently been dismissed as(被斥为，被认为是) low quality. That may soon change. In recent years Chinese companies have been launching their own high-performance bikes(高性能自行车), which cost around 40% less than models with similar specifications(规格，技术参数) from the incumbents(现任者，老牌企业).
全球约60%的自行车在中国制造。尽管中国为许多西方品牌（包括皮纳瑞罗等高端品牌）供应零件，但其自有车型常被斥为低质量。这种情况可能很快改变。近年来，中国企业开始推出自己的高性能自行车，价格比老牌厂商同规格车型低约40%。
Chinese bikes appeared in last year’s Tour de France for the first time, with Kazakhstan’s team riding models from X-Lab, a division of XDS, a Chinese carbon-fibre(碳纤维) manufacturing giant (and the team’s new title sponsor(冠名赞助商)). “A Chinese bike has won the Tour de France many times,” argues Patrick Pan of X-Lab, just not under a Chinese brand. Quick Pro, a competitor, made its World Tour(世界巡回赛：自行车顶级赛事) debut(首次亮相，首秀) in March this year. Pardus, ridden by the Chinese team at the Paris Olympics, announced in May that it was expanding into Europe.
中国自行车去年首次亮相环法，哈萨克斯坦队骑乘的是X-Lab的车型，X-Lab是中国碳纤维制造巨头XDS的一个部门（也是该车队的新冠名赞助商）。“中国自行车已经赢过环法很多次了，”X-Lab的Patrick Pan说，只是不挂中国品牌。竞争对手Quick Pro于今年3月首次登上世界巡回赛。Pardus曾在巴黎奥运会被中国队使用，5月宣布将进军欧洲。