Aldo Wins Stage 3 and Kvasina Dons the Polka Dot Climbers Jersey
Today was the third stage of the Tour of China and we saw another change of scenery, temperature and in the jerseys. As well, the Polka Dot Jersey was awarded for the first time in this tour to the top climber. In the end there was another exciting finish in front of a huge crowd.
We left the rain behind with a short transfer southeast from Xi'an to the city of Lantian, Xi'an. On the way to the start, the skies cleared up and the sun shone brightly. This put the riders from Christina Watches-Onfone in a good mood and ready to defend the yellow jersey. Prior to the race Martin Pedersen reiterated his team's commitment to protecting the Yellow Jersey by controlling the field.
The race kicked off and the route wound its way out of the city and onto country roads bordered by fields. Soon the fields gave way to mountains and the riders found themselves on the biggest climb of the tour. At the base of the climb Matija Kvasina from the Tusnad Cycling Team attacked, even though he didn't know the exactly how hard the mountain was going to be. If the riders were not so focused on the climb they would have been able to take in the beautiful scenery which they rode through. Or perhaps they were focused on the scenery and as they allowed Kvasina to stay away, though never out of sight. With one kilometer to go before the line for the mountain points, Kvasina looked back and thought he would be caught. However, two hundred meters from the line the road kicked up a little and it enough to keep the chasers at bay and take the mountain sprint.
The climb split the stronger riders from their slower competitors and the former took advantage of this. After the climb it was mostly downhill to the finish, with the exception of the a couple of rolling climbs and an intermediate sprint. Despite the lack of hills only, about half of the 124 starters were able to stay in the peleton which finished several minutes ahead of the slower riders.
The race finished with a circuit through the streets of Shangluo which were lined with people on this sunny Sunday afternoon. The peleton tore through the slightly hilly finish before it turned onto a wide open boulevard for a group gallop. In the finishing circuit Team Type 1-Sanofi worked well as a team, and this allowed Aldo Ino Ilesic (TT1) to claim the win about one bike length ahead of Tyler Magner from the BMC-Hincapie Sportswear Development Team. With the win, Ilesic moved into the lead in the points standings so he will be dressed in the blue Points Jersey for stage 4.
This race had the most spectators so far in this tour. Crowds could be seen in even the smallest villages that the race went through and in the starting and finishing cities saw thick crowds. This created a great atmosphere for the riders. Tomorrow the riders will be able to relax and rest because they have a day off to make the transfer from Shangluo to Xiangyang where they will compete in circuit race through the city.
LEADERBOARD- going into stage four, the classification leaders are:
Yellow Jersey (Individual GC): PEDERSEN Martin (CWO)
Blue Jersey (Points Classification): ILESIC Aldo Ino (TT1)
Polka Dot Jersey (KOM): KVASINA Matija (TCT)
White Jersey (Best Chinese Rider Classification): XU Gang (CSS)
Teams GC: Christina Watches-Onfone (CWO)
Alexander Serebryakov knocks stage win in the rain.
Yellow goes to Martin Pedersen
Stage one of the Tour of China saw great racing conditions, however the good conditions did not last and the riders faced rainy conditions. The second day saw the weather change as well as changes on the leader board. The riders did not seem to have been tired out by the stage one team time trial and they completed the stage with an average speed of 49.7 km/h for the one hundred kilometer stage.
Prior to the race the riders were a little worried that the conditions would be slippery which would lead to crashes; this fear proved, ultimately, to be unfounded. From the moment the gun sounded, riders attacked. It was difficult for any breaks to escape due to the layout of the L-shaped course. This made it easy for the spectators to enjoy the race but difficult for a break to get out of sight and mind of the peleton. Despite the failure of the breaks, there was no shortage of riders willing to attempt to do so. The peleton was not interested in letting the riders get away which lead to bunch sprints for intermediate sprints. The first two were won by the Malaysian sprinter Mohd Harrif Saleh who is riding for the Terengganu Cycling Team.
After each sprint riders attacked but every time they were brought back, which was made easier by the windless conditions. On the final lap it looked as though four riders might be able to make a break and stay away. The peloton didn't look to be in the mood to chase after racing so hard for two hours and they allowed the breakaway to get a lead of a few hundred meters. However, in the final five kilometers the peleton reconsidered, got organized and the break suffered the same fate as earlier breaks. This lead to another group sprint, this time for the stage win. Despite looking strong in the intermediate sprints, Saleh was unable to repeat his success and finished seventh on the day. Australians Aaron Kemps (Champion Systems), Jack Beckinsdale (Australia National Team) and Benjamin Hill (Australia National Team) finished second through fourth but they were unable to best Alexander Serebryakov (Team Type 1-Sanofi) who beat everyone to the line.
After the results were tallied, most of the jerseys changed hands. The points jersey was taken from Michael Rasmussen of the Christina Watches-Onfone team and given to Saleh. Tomorrow will see Martin Pedersen (Christina Watches-Onfone) start the race in the yellow jersey. Stage three is certain to see a shake up as there is a category two climb with a peak at 72 km from the start of the 125.6 kilometer stage. The weather is forecast to the rainy again so the riders will be in for another uncomfortable day.
Please find attached the 2012 Tour of China Stage 2 press release and result and photos
LEADERBOARD- going into stage three, the classification leaders are:
Stage winner: Alexander Serebryakov (Team Type 1-Sanofi)
Yellow Jersey (Individual GC): PEDERSEN Martin (CWO)
Blue Jersey (Points Classification): SALEH Mohd Harrif (TSG)
White Jersey (Best Chinese Rider Classification): XU Gang (CSS)
Teams GC: Christina Watches-Onfone (CWO)
Christina Watches-Onfone team win the Tour of China TTT
The first stage of the Tour of China started in the northern city of Xian, which is famous for its Terra Cotta Warriors. The course was a short 19.8 kilometer team time trial, which was both flat and technically simple affair due to its straight out-and-back layout. The only issue that the riders had to deal with was the wind which pushed them toward the turnaround point but became a headwind on the way back.
Prior to the race the riders all felt the same. It was difficult for them to assess their chances as most of them had not ridden against each other before. In attendance were four professional continental teams, three national squads and the remaining fourteen teams were continental teams. All the teams set out to make a good impression on the spectators and each other. Due to the comfortable temperature in the low-twenties and the brand new roads helped the teams to average speeds in excess of 45 km/h!
Christina Watches-Onfone team averaged nearly 51 km/h which enabled them to take the stage, fourteen seconds ahead of the young Rabobank team. Team Type 1-Sanofi rounded out the top three, 23 seconds behind the winners.
In the end, the Christina Watches-Onfone team, lead across the line by Stefan Schumacher, claimed the win. He will start the second stage in the yellow jersey. Beside him will be his teammate, Michael Rasmussen who will be wearing the blue jersey as the leader of the points classification. Meiyin Wang, who is riding for the China Hope Star Team, was the fastest Chinese rider so he will be wearing the white jersey.
In post race interviews both Schumacher and Rasmussen said that they were extremely happy with their result and that they would be looking to defend both the yellow and points jerseys. Other teams will be looking forward to tomorrow's one hundred kilometer circuit race and the chance to take the jerseys away from the Christina Watches-Onfone squad.