author：qinghaihu publish time：2019-07-25
By: Samuel Turner
Roy Eefting of Memil Pro Cycling has taken first place in the eleventh stage in the Tour of Qinghai Lake. In second was resilient Bas Van der Kooij (Monkey Town) and in third Georgios Bouglas (Ningxia Sports Lottery). The yellow jersey is still on Robinson Chalapud (Medellin) and the green jersey is also still held by Eduard Grosu (Delko Marseille Provence).
Stage eleven was a 153km flat race beginning in Minqin and winding through the scenic Tenegger Desert. Similar to yesterday, riders enjoyed a lower altitude but that didn’t make it easy in any means. Glaring sun roasted racers throughout the day and open desert left them vulnerable to harsh cross winds. Add sharp turns to the mix and it made for a difficult stage to predict.
After twenty kilometres a breakaway of eight riders averaged 48km/h, spearheading an incredible pace in the sweltering conditions. Francesco Romano (Bardiani CSF), Evaldas Siskevicius (Delko Marseille Provence), Eduard Vorganov (Minsk Cycling Club), Cristian Raileanu (Team Sapura Cycling), Alex Molenaar (Monkey Town), Mateusz Taciak (Voster ATS), Robigzon Oyola (Medellin) and Sergey Nikolaev maintained a maximum lead of 1 minute 22 seconds.
Taciak took the first sprint and Branislau Samoilau (Minsk Cycling Club) took the 1485m KOM, in which after only four riders remained maintaining a distance. The bunch regained the breakaway riders and maintained formation until the final sprint. The young sprinter Eefting took the victory with a hard five kilometres to the finish.
“We came from quite far back with one kilometre to go, I think twentieth wheel,” Eefting told reporters, recounting the final part of the race.“But we came with speed and as soon as I hit the front I went for it.”
It was his first pro win, first podium for Memil in the tour and first ride in a desert, marking a special day for the Dutchman.
“It feels really good. We’re one of the smallest teams in the race,” Eefting said. “I think we’re doing really, really well getting a stage win and high up in the GC.”
The flat, open conditions suited Eefting who admitted the heat was intense, but only found difficulty in the last five kilometres.
“Today was a hard day, really hot,” he claimed. “But the sprint worked out perfectly.”
With two stages left in the Tour of Qinghai Lake, Memil hope to take advantage of the lower altitude and flatness for the cherry on the top of a hard fought but fruitful race in China.
“Today was really nice,” the Dutchman said. “So let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”
