China's Olympic champion Liu Xiang is hoping to have a bit rest in 2006 from the compact schedule ever since he won the 110m hurdles Olympic champion in Athens.

"I'm expecting to have an easy season since only two major events awaits in 2006," he said at the airport on Tuesday before leaving for Italy to run the torch relay for the 2006 Turin WinterOlympic Games.

The 22-year-old said he had planned to take a break even after the 2004 Athens Games, where he was remembered as the first Chinese man to win an athletics Olympic title, but had to go on with various competitions and activities, including the National Games and Eastern Asian Games in a row.

"For the next year, I only have the Asian Games and World Cup in sight. So hopefully, I will have some time of my own."

"And 2007 will be different. That's the warm-up for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, so it will be like a final dash," he said.

Liu will run the torch relay in Florence with China's ex-short track skater Yang Yang and two college students, Xie Weijiang fromBeijing University and China Agricultural University.

(Xinhua News Agency December 13, 2005)