Aguirre gears up for victory as Chalapud leads the Tour

author：qinghaihu  publish time：2019-07-17

By: Samuel Turner

Hernan Aguirre has taken first place in the fourth stage of the Tour of Qinghai Lake. The Interpro Cycling Academy rider was victorious in a two horse race between himself and Colombian Robinson Chalapud (Medellin) in the final stretch. In third was the Australian Benjamin Dyball of Sapura Energy Cycling Team.

Chalapud may have been beat in the final sprint, but he is the new leader of the race. Luca Pacioni (Neri Selle Italia KTM) has maintained the green sprinter’s jersey.

Chalapud becoming the new leader only reiterates the incredible form that the entire Medellin team are in.

“I feel very good and I managed to recover quite quickly from a bad fall a few months ago,” the humble Colombian said. “Wearing the leader’s jersey is always nice but the captain of our team remains Oscar Sevilla.”

Today’s stage started in Guide and wound through more of China’s spectacular mountains to arrive in Longyangxia, after 100km of hilly terrain. The race began at a high pace, with three main competitors vying for the aggressive lead. Robinson Chalapud, Artur Fedosseyev (Shenzen Xidesheng Cycling Team) and Hernan Aguirre led the breakaway after the second steep ascent of the race. The group pursuing the breakaway pack slowly diminished to less than twenty riders as Chalapud and Aguirre locked horns in the final fight.

“The last sprint was very fast, downhill. I tried my best and I won,” Aguirre said simply.

He claimed his success came down to his knowledge of the stage from last year, that he not only won but the entire Tour as well.

In his home of Colombia he lives at 3000m, making the arduous altitude of Qinghai less stressful than it is for other riders. The General Classification however may prove a tougher challenge.

“Winning the general will be difficult because of the gap after the time trial,” Aguirre explained. “But the team will do everything to give me a hand.”