By: Samuel Turner

The Greek rider Georgios Bouglas (Ningxia Sports Lottery) has come out victorious in the fifth stage of the Tour of Qinghai Lake 2019. Second place honors  were given to Monkey Town rider Bas Van de Kooij and third to the consistent Luca Pacioni of Neri Selle Italia KTM. Robinson Chalapud (Medellin) remains the leader of the race with a gritty performance from the Colombian team.

Today’s race began with a light rain and some riders donning jackets to combat the weather. The 173km stage five race began in Gonghe and finished at the famous salt flats in Chaka. A relatively simple race today was complicated by cold weather and strong chilling winds. 

A few kilometres into the race a six man battle begins between Niccola Gaffurini (Monkey Town), Mario Vogt (Team Sapura Cycling), Yauhen Sobal (Minsk Cycling Club), Jose Ferreira (W52 FC Porto), Zhihui Jiang (Mitchelton Bike Exchange) and Zhishan Zhang (Tianyoude Hotel Cycling Team). The breakaway riders manage to create a gap of up to four minutes between themselves and the main group. The cold temperature and strong winds consistently trouble the racers, but fifteen kilometers before the finish the group catches up to the breakaway pack. 

The last two kilometers were quite dangerous given the tight turns and small roads leading to the finish line. The final sprint saw Bouglas streak ahead and claim victory.

Holder of the green sprinter’s jersey, Pacioni, said the group was quite relaxed during the majority of the race and the pace was not so fast. 

“The wind was the most difficult part of this stage because we were riding straight into it,” the Italian explained. 

The Colombian Chalapud definitely agreed, shaking from the cold temperatures of Chaka after the race. He holds onto the yellow jersey as the leader of the General Classification. 

“The team did great work to get me to the finish line and protected me throughout the entire stage,” Chalapud noted. “I feel very good and we will see how the next stages go.”

Carrying on their form from the Tour of Colombia win, Chalapud along with Medellin have their eyes on the prize.

“Our team is strong and we are here to win the general classification.” 

BARDIANI CSF (BRD)