author：qinghaihu publish time：2015-06-23
8th July, stage 4 – Qinghai Lake > Gangcha will be the stage closest to Qinghai Lake. The finish of the previous stage will serve as the start for this stage. Riders will ride counter wise for the first half then go for the finish in Gangcha Leisure Square.
Gangcha is one of the most important county specialized in stock raising. The county is 110km to Haiyan, the state capital county. Several state highway and Qinghai-Tibet Railway runs across the county. The county also melts different cultures, most of which are minority nationals. Tibetan accounts for 63.38% of the total population. The rest consists of Han, Mongolian, Hui, Dongxiang people.
Riders will start from Erlangjian scenic sport and follow 109 state highway, and then pass Huanhu west road and continue on 315 state highway before finally entering Gangcha. Three points classification is set on the way at 66.6km (Heimahe), 120.7km (Bird’s island) and 158.2km (Quanji). Breakaway and catch-ups are expected in this stage.
This might be the most breath-taking stage of TDQL in terms of the view. Huanhu west road, which is about 40km is known as the most beautiful road along Qinghai Lake. The view here changes during the year. In July and August, Canola fields draws most attention by the lake.
Second points class is set at Birds’ island. The island is 500m long and 150m wide. More than 100,000 birds resides in the island. A large variety of birds come and mate here in April then leave the island in fall.
The finish line is a nice place to see the final sprint. In addition, if you want to see the peloton passing by the amazing view, you can wait along the part of 190 state highway close to the lake.
