競争 and 競走: competition and racing with the same reading
Compare competition over service quality with school and bicycle races to distinguish 競争 and 競走, both read きょうそう.
競争 (きょうそう): competing over quality or speed
「二社が新しいサービスの質を競争している。」 (“Two companies are competing on the quality of their new services.”) The companies compete over service quality. This is not a report of running along the same course or entering a sports event.
「速さだけを競争すると、安全がおろそかになる。」 (“Competing solely on speed can lead to neglecting safety.”) The sentence presents a condition involving competition focused only on speed. It does not report an accident or say that every form of competition is unsafe.
競走 (きょうそう): running and bicycle races
「運動会の最後に学年対抗の競走が行われた。」 (“A race between grade levels was held at the end of the field day.”) This is a race between school years at a sports day. Participation in the race and who won it are separate matters.
「二台の自転車が坂道を下って競走した。」 (“The two bicycles raced down the slope.”) 競走 also describes two bicycles racing down a slope. Its use here cannot be narrowed to races run on foot.
Identify what is being contested
Both words are read きょうそう. These examples distinguish competition over service quality from an actual race, so the spelling carries information that the sound alone does not.
The examples do not restrict 競争 to companies or 競走 to school sports days. Preserve the bicycle-racing use instead of turning one familiar scene into an exclusive definition.
Can 競走 describe two bicycles racing down a slope?
Show the answer and why
Yes. The selected example uses 競走 for that scene. It is not restricted to running on foot, and its spelling differs from 競争 in competition over service quality.