On July 13, the 3rd stage of the 25th 2026 "Great Qinghai Lake" International Road Cycling Race kicked off in Menyuan. The peloton rode along the Datong River, then headed south to conquer the Twelve Turns Slope and Beilongshan Pass, before arriving at Huzhu, the "Hometown of Rainbows".

On July 13, the 3rd stage of the 25th 2026 "Great Qinghai Lake" International Road Cycling Race kicked off in Menyuan. The peloton rode along the Datong River, then headed south to conquer the Twelve Turns Slope and Beilongshan Pass, before arriving at Huzhu, the "Hometown of Rainbows".

After two consecutive days of bunch sprints, the highly challenging climbs on the 3rd stage let riders experience the harshness of high-altitude racing. Eventually, defending champion Henok Mulueberhan (MULUEBERHAN Henok) from Xidesheng Astana Team claimed the stage win in a small-group sprint. Jonathan Klever Caicedo Cepeda (CAICEDO CEPEDA Jonathan Klever) from Lunfeng ROTOR Chengdu Team and Antonio Eric Fagundez Lima (FAGUNDEZ LIMA Antonio Eric) from Spain's Burgos BH Team took 2nd and 3rd place on the stage respectively.

In the leader jersey standings, Jonathan Klever Caicedo Cepeda (CAICEDO CEPEDA Jonathan Klever) seized the ICBC General Classification Yellow Jersey; Alexander Salby (SALBY Alexander) from Li-Ning Star Team earned the "Jinhui Jiu" Sprint King Green Jersey by collecting points in the breakaway; Jon Aguirre Egaña (AGIRRE EGAÑA Jon) from Spain's Euskaltel-Euskadi Team led the KOM polka dot jersey ranking; Tegshbayar Batsaikhan (BATSAIKHAN Tegshbayar) from Thailand's Lu Jia Insurance Team retained the "PEAK" Best Asian Rider Blue Jersey.

The 3rd stage, the ICBC Menyuan-Huzhu stage, covers 168 kilometers, with 2 categorized climbs and 3 intermediate sprint points.

The race started in Menyuan under cloudy skies at 16°C, with 143 riders at the start line.

Shortly after the start, an 8-rider breakaway quickly formed. Members included Marcin Budzinski (BUDZINSKI Marcin) from Hungary's MBH Bank Team, Maxime Duba (DUBA Maxime) from Netherlands' Azeryon Team, Augustus Max Campbell (CAMPBELL Augustus Max) from Australia's Triumph-Buddy Team, Niu Gaoshang (NIU Gaoshang) from Buddy Lantu Team, Jonas Rapp (RAPP Jonas) from Phoenix-Finiss-SCOM-Hengxiang Team, and opening race winner Alexander Salby (SALBY Alexander), who broke away to chase sprint points. Zeb Kyffin (KYFFIN Zeb) from Malaysia's Terengganu Team and Markus Pajur (PAJUR Markus), teammate of Jonas Rapp, later joined the move, and their time gap quickly reached 3 minutes.

Since the main climbs were concentrated in the second half of the stage, the peloton did not chase at full intensity. The breakaway kept extending its advantage, and the gap once stretched to 7 minutes. Alexander Salby (SALBY Alexander) took first place at all three intermediate sprint points of the day, temporarily topping the virtual green jersey standings with points earned from the breakaway. The Italy Botti-Explore Malta Team, which held the yellow jersey, controlled the pace at the front of the peloton, keeping the overall rhythm steady before the climbs began.

When the race hit the Twelve Turns Slope, GC teams led the peloton into fierce competition, and the breakaway riders gradually fell behind. Near the summit, only Jonas Rapp (RAPP Jonas) remained in the breakaway, and he was the first to cross the Twelve Turns Slope climb point. Back in the peloton, Cristian Rodriguez Martin (RODRIGUEZ MARTIN Cristian) from Xidesheng Astana Team launched an attack and took 2nd place at the climb point. Gabriele Bessega (BESSEGA Gabriele), who was wearing the yellow jersey, dropped out of the peloton during this move. Later, Jon Aguirre Egaña (AGIRRE EGAÑA Jon) and Henok Mulueberhan (MULUEBERHAN Henok) joined Cristian Rodriguez Martin (RODRIGUEZ MARTIN Cristian) to chase down Jonas Rapp (RAPP Jonas).

Jonas Rapp (RAPP Jonas) rode tenaciously, holding a 30-second lead to cross the Beilongshan Pass climb point first. Cristian Rodriguez Martin (RODRIGUEZ MARTIN Cristian) and Henok Mulueberhan (MULUEBERHAN Henok) finished 2nd and 3rd respectively. On the 29-kilometer downhill section at the end, Jonas Rapp (RAPP Jonas) still led the 3-rider chasing group by 30 seconds, while the peloton behind was roughly 1 minute behind. 24 kilometers before the finish, 7 riders broke away from the peloton to join the chasing group. With their combined effort, Jonas Rapp (RAPP Jonas) was finally caught 13 kilometers from the finish, setting up a small-group sprint showdown.

The 11-rider breakaway entered the final 5 kilometers. In the sprint duel, Jon Aguirre Egaña (AGIRRE EGAÑA Jon) attacked first but was reeled in. Henok Mulueberhan (MULUEBERHAN Henok) then launched his sprint, and no one could match his powerful acceleration as he smoothly secured the stage win.

Tomorrow (July 14) will see the 4th stage, the China Sports Lottery Huzhu-Guide race, which features 2 categorized climbs and 3 intermediate sprint points. Riders will face the dual challenge of an HC-category climb and an ultra-long downhill section — stay tuned.