author：qinghaihu publish time：2016-07-17
Colombian Miguel Rubiano overcomes mass pileup inside closing kilometres to outkick his rivals and win stage 1 of the 15th ‘Qinghai Rural Credit Cup’ Tour of Qinghai Lake.
XINING, China—Colombian Mauricio Ortega (RTS-Santic Racing Team) may have basked in the spotlight for 90km, but compatriot Miguel Rubiano (China Continental Team of Gansu Bank) stole the show and the opening stage of 15th ‘Qinghai Rural Credit Cup’ Tour of Qinghai Lake (UCI 2.HC) in Xining, China, on Sunday, July 17.
The 2016 Vuelta a Colombia winner joined Ukrainian Vitaliy Buts (Kolss-BDC) in a two-man break immediately after the first of six 18.8km laps of the Xining circuit race, before going solo with 70km remaining.
Ortega and Buts went one-two at the first intermediate sprint, with Greece’s Georgios Bouglas (China Continental Team of Gansu Bank) taking third. Ortega also claimed the second – and final – intermediate sprint uncontested while opening up a nearly 4-minute gap (3:50), but couldn’t hold off the surging peloton with 3km to go.
“I felt really good and strong, the finish line was close,” The 35-year-old Ortega told media after the race. “When I heard 3 minutes I thought I a could win the stage, but didn’t have the legs to finish the job.”
A massive pileup inside 2km brought down half the startlist, with 10 riders escaping the melee toward the finish. With pre-stage favourites Marko Kump (Lampre-Merida) and Marco Zanotti (Parkhotel-Valkenburg CT) on the ground, Rubiano outsprinted Italian Daniele Colli (Nippo-Vini Fantini) and Dutchman Remco Te Brake (Parkhotel-Valkenburg CT) to claim stage 1 and slip into both the points- and general classification jerseys.
“I was on the left and I almost went down with everyone else,” said the 31-year-old Rubiano. “But I was very lucky to stay upright and this is a very important win for me and for my team, which is also very important to me.”
Considered the ‘unofficial’ fourth grand tour, the Tour of Qinghai Lake features 23 teams competing over 1,916km with elevations peaking at 4,120m. In fact, the race is considered to have the highest average elevation of any other bike race in the world, and has become the crowning jewel in the UCI Asia Tour calendar.
“I feel pressure to keep both jerseys,” said the 2012 Giro d’Italia stage winner when asked about holding on to both jerseys. “My team is strong and I would like to keep the yellow jersey, but the sprinter’s jersey is good too.”
BRIEF RESULTS
Stage 1 classification
1. Miguel Rubiano, COL, China Continental Team of Gansu Bank, 2:20:26
2. Daniele Colli, ITA, Nippo-Vini Fantini, s.t.
3. Remco Te Brake, NED, Parkhotel-Valkenburg CT, s.t.
General Classification
1. Miguel Rubiano, COL, China Continental Team of Gansu Bank
2. Daniele Colli, ITA, Nippo-Vini Fantini, 0:00”
3. Remco Te Brake, NED, Parkhotel-Valkenburg CT, 0:00”
Classification Leaders
Race Leader (Yellow Jersey): Miguel Rubiano, COL, China Continental Team of Gansu Bank
Points Leader (Green Jersey): Miguel Rubiano, COL, China Continental Team of Gansu Bank
Best Asian Rider (Blue Jersey): Zengtao Yang, CHN, China Continental Team of Gansu Bank
Most Aggressive: Mauricio Ortega, COL, RTS-Santic Racing Team
Best Team: KOLSS-BDC TEAM
Best Asian Team: China Continental Team of Gansu Bank, 2:20:26
