Is 二人 a の-adjective in [今日のサイクリングレースでは、**二人**の選手が最後まで抜きつ抜かれつ一番争いをして いた。]?


if it's not a の-adjective, what do i have to consider it in the sentence? Do I
read '二人の選手' as 'athlete/player of two persons'? If it's a の-adjective i think
i can read it as 'two players' or 'pair of players' right?




Japanese works differently than English. の is used to join two nouns, with the
first modifying the second.

  * 本【ほん】の読者【どくしゃ】  
book の reader → the book's reader, the reader of the book

  * 犬【いぬ】の飼【か】い主【ぬし】  
dog の keeper → the dog's keeper, the keeper of the dog

Sometimes the relationship works out a little differently than the above, in
which case you must rely on context and the meaning of the individual words.

For your sample phrase, we have the noun 二人【ふたり】 and the noun 選手【せんしゅ】. The の
in between _could_ be possessive, wherein the 二人【ふたり】 and the 選手【せんしゅ】 are
distinct and separate entities:

  * 二人【ふたり】の選手【せんしゅ】  
two people の player(s) → the two people's player(s), the player(s) of the two
people

Alternatively, this could mean that "the two people's player(s)" means the two
people _are_ the players. This is most likely the correct interpretation in
your sample.

A similar phrase might be:

  * 花【はな】の束【たば】  
flower(s) の bunch(es) → a bunch of flowers, where the flowers _are_ the bunch

While の is often used for the possessive, remember that ultimately it's used
to join two nouns, where the first is modifying the second.

