How the race finished
Chiara Consonni (UAE Team ADQ) stole the general classification victory in the Tour of Chongming Island after winning the final stage. Stage One winner Myele de Zoete (Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling) and Daria Pikulik (Human Powered Health) rounded out the podium, pushing Stage Two winner, local team Li Ning Star Ladies’ Hanna Tserakh, to fourth overall.
Full results are available below.
How it happened
Stage One was a cagey and managed race, with many teams keen to control things for a bunch sprint. A breakaway of three riders established themselves, includingTiril Jorgensen (Coop Hitec Products), Nicole Hartychova (Team Dukla Praha), Tasla Naskovich (Li Ning Star Ladies). The trio were joined by Siying Lu (China Liv Pro Cycling) and Xin Tang (China). Although the group worked well together, the peloton held them at a little over a minute gap, and brought things back together with 20km remaining. Chiara Consonni (UAE Team ADQ) and Vittoria Guazzini (FDJ Suez) both picked up bonus seconds at the intermediate sprints, but the time available on the finish line still decide the first overall leader. Strong lead out by Jayco-AlUla wasn’t quite enough on the long, fast finale. Mylene de Zoete (Ceratizit WNT Pro Cycling), who was supposed to be doing the lead out for her teammate Martina Fidanza, stole the show, winning ahead of Daria Pikulik (Human Powered Health) and Georgia Baker (Team Jayco AlUla).
Stage Two was animated by a long solo breakaway by Olga Zabelinskaya (Tashkent City Women Professional Cycling Team), who picked up crucial seconds in the intermediate sprints to put herself within touching distance of the general classification podium. Human Powered Health and Ceratizit WNT Pro Cycling did the bulk of the work to control the gap, and Zabelinskaya was eventually reeled back in in the final five kilometres. Despite the work of the bigger teams, Hanna Tserakh (Li Ning Star Ladies) surprised the bunch with the strong sprint, easily taking the win ahead of big names Martina Fidanza (Ceratizit WNT Pro Cycling) and Chiara Consonni (UAE Team ADQ) and rocketing herself into the leader’s jersey.
Coming into Stage Three the General Classification remained very tight at the top. The final stage took place on a circuit featuring four laps of Chongming New City Park. With bonus seconds available on each crossing of the finish line, totalling a maximum of 19 seconds, everything was to still play for. No breakaway was allowed to form, and the major players in the hunt for the GC sought the bonus seconds. de Zoete and Consonni both took bonus seconds in the intermediates, and, with only one second separating the pair on the virtual GC, their teams kept the bunch together for a sprint to the finish line. De Zoete was out of position in the finishing sprint, which Consonni won, giving her the claim to the overall victory. Pikulik and Fidanza both picked up another podium finish to round out their week.
Full Results
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