October 10/14 13:36 pm - Tour of Beijing: Stage 1

Posted by Editoress on 10/10/14
 

Rising star Luka Mezgec (Giant-Shimano) made it back-to-back victories at the Tour of Beijing on Friday after a stunning sprint win on the opening stage.

The Slovenian won the 2013 finale in Beijing and today in Zhangjiakou edged out Caleb Ewan (Orica-GreenEDGE) and Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Sharp) in a bunch kick after a tough 4:22:58 in the saddle on the first day of the final UCI WorldTour event of the season.

The 167km stage between Chongli and Zhangjiakou came back together for the sprint after a 148km-long breakaway. Except for two of the key overall general classification hopefuls, the defending champion Benat Inxausti (Movistar) and BMC Racing Teams Tejay Van Garderen who both finished more than 18 minutes behind the main bunch.

With the win Mezgec become the first man to wear the red leader’s jersey with today’s victory and hinted that he was hungry for more.

“It’s nice to come back to this race and I hope we can do something more this week,” he said. “I feel honoured that I can be a player on the flat stages, so that’s a big compliment for me in my second year as a professional.”

The Giant-Shimano rider holds a four second lead heading into Stage 2 thanks to time bonuses in the general classification from Ewan with Julian Kern (AG2R-La Mondiale) a further second in arrears thanks to his efforts in the breakaway.

While Mezgec was a clear winner on the stage the battle for the minor placings was a close one with mere millimetres separating Ewan, from Australia, in his debut WorldTour event for Orica-GreenEdge from seasoned campaigner Farrar.

“It was really close,” said Ewan who takes the early lead in the young rider’s classification. “I got a little bit boxed in there at the end and I had to wait to get out and I think I got out a little bit too late.”

Farrar, who leaves Garmin-Sharp after seven years for MTN-Qhubeka at the end of the year, said he was very motivated to finish his time with the team on the right note.

“The form’s decent so I’ve got to try,” explained the American. “I thought it was a good one for me today because it was such a hard day and that suits me.”

A rollercoaster ride to the finish
The opening stage saw a definitive breakaway right from the moment the flag was dropped with three riders escaping up the road from the start in the mountain resort city of Chongli, part of Beijing’s bid for the Olympic Winter Games in 2022.

AG2R-La Mondiale’s Julian Kern, Jeremy Roy (FDJ.fr) and Tosh van der Sande (Lotto Belisol) quickly opened a lead on the peloton who showed no resistance.

By the first sprint, won by Kern, from van der Sande and Roy, the trio had established a six-minute advantage on the bunch, being led by Team Sky. The race quickly headed upwards through a pine forest that was a rich shade of gold in the autumn climate, before reaching a rolling plateau that resembled something of a moonscape littered with around 1000 wind turbines.

The first KOM at 1905 metres above sea level would set the trend for the remaining two climbs on the stage with van der Sande besting Roy and Kern across the line. The race would continue to climb, reaching a race-high 1940 metres in altitude as the three leaders stretched their advantage to just under seven-and-a-half minutes at the second KOM.

The altitude and a buffeting head-wind made for a tough day in the peloton, with Stephen Cummings (BMC), Nelson Oliveira (Lampre-Merida), Robert Kiserlovski (Trek Factory Racing) and Giovanna Visconti (Movistar) all forced to abandon the race.

As the chase dictated by Team Sky with some assistance by Cannondale began in earnest on the back half of the plateau, small groups formed off the back of the main bunch.

Van der Sande, guaranteed the lead in the KOM classification, was the first of the breakaway riders to feel the pinch, sitting up after 115km in the saddle with the chase under two-minutes behind. The second sprint saw Roy go for broke, trying his luck solo but the will of the peloton was too great and the stage’s most aggressive rider was swallowed up on the outskirts of Zhangjiakou.
Tour of Beijing

Canada's Guillaume Boivin (Cannondale) finished 12th, Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp) finished 69th, both in the same time as the winner.

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