Putting the pedal to the Medellin: Leandro Oyola leads time trials at Tour of Qinghai

author：qinghaihu  publish time：2019-07-14

By: Samuel Turner

The Colombian team Medellin has taken out the first place in Stage One of the Tour of Qinghai 2019. Second place honours have been secured by Ningxia Sports Lottery and third by the Sapura Cycling Team. The first leader of the Chinese stage race is the Colombian Robigzon Leandro Oyola.

A forty kilometre team time trial inaugurated the 18th edition of the Tour of Qinghai Lake. Riders fought tough conditions as consistent rain and cold weather made the seemingly simple leg quite difficult. The best time was recorded by Medellin with 49:37.58, closely followed by Ningxia Sports Lottery with 51:05.78. Sapura Cycling Team posted an impressive 51:51.78 to close out the top three team performances of the day.

The Colombian Robigzon Leandro Oyola was ecstatic to not only become the first leader of the race, but also for his teams performance.

“We are back from a race in Colombia which was quite demanding and we are therefore in excellent shape,” Oyola explained.

“I am very confident about the next stages also because for us Colombians running at these altitudes is normal. We’ll see how it goes.”

Team Manager Jose Julian Velasquez praised all the riders and staff in his team after the first stage performance. He claimed the altitude will play to their advantage moving forward in the race.

“I think it’s better for us rather than the other teams,” said Velasquez.

Medellin’s first appearance in the Tour of Qinghai has gotten off to the best possible start for the Colombians.

“I’m not just happy for the result – I’m happy to stay in China,” Velasquez told reporters. “It’s the first time for us in your country and I’m very proud of this.”