Tour of Taihu Lake 2016 – Stage 1 [FULL STAGE]

November 06, 2016

Tour of Taihu Lake 2016 – Stage 1– Wuxi – Wuxi – 111,3 km

The Tour of Taihu Lake is a staged cycling race held in China annually in November. It has been held since 2010, but the first edition was a one-day race

Defending champion and seven times stage winner in 2015 Jakub Mareczko (Wilier-Southeast) sprinted to victory just like a year ago on the same finish line of Wuxi Binhu at the end of the opening stage of the Tour of Taihu Lake in China.

The Italian of fended off compatriots Nicolas Marini from Nippo-Vini Fantini and Parkhotel Valkenburg’s Marco Zanotti to win the sprint finish, while prologue winner Oleksandr Golovash from Minsk Cycling Club retained the orange leader’s jersey. Mareczko moved into the lead in the points classification, which is his goal this year, as the seventh edition of the Tour of Taihu Lake is no longer a purely flat affair.

“It was a good sprint for me”, Mareczko declared. “I got a perfect position with two kilometres to go. Earlier on, I tried to go for the intermediate sprints to chase points and time bonuses ahead of the coming stages. I’d like to get the leader’s jersey for at least one day. The team prepared very well for the sprint with Rafael Andriato leading me out until 200 metres to go. This win means we can aim for more.”

With a lot of riders on the hunt for the intermediate sprints, the first road stage was a very fast race with a lot of attacks but no breakaway really until Thomas Vaubourzeix of Delko Marseille-Provence-KTM rode away 30km from the finish with Muradjan Halmuratov from Beijing-Innova. Their advantage was only fifty seconds with 20km to go. Interestingly, Vaubourzeix’s team-mate Sofiane Mérignat attacked from the bunch at the 15km to go mark.

Three kilometers further, Halmuratov was back in the pack while Vitalii Popkov, a Russian rider with Chinese continental outfit Lvshan Landscape, replaced him at the front. Vaubourzeix secured the most aggressive rider price of the day as he forged on until six kilometres to go. Future WorldTour rider Wang Meiyin, who will join Bahrain-Merida next year, gave a good show for Wisdom-Hengxiang with five kilometres to go but a bunch sprint finish was inevitable and it looked like an easy win for Mareczko who took the bronze medal at the recent under 23 world championship in Doha, Qatar.

His main rival Marini didn’t have the best preparation for the Tour of Taihu Lake and so was satisfied with second place.

“I haven’t raced for one and half month, since when the Tour of China finished”, the Nippo-Vini Fantini rider explained.

“My condition isn’t at its best. But I take this second place as a positive result. Riccardo Stacchiotti led me out at perfection. I took Mareczko’s slipstream but I never managed to pass him. As I’m getting back into shape, I hope to do better in the coming days. This is my first time at the Tour of Taihu Lake, it’s very well organized, so I want to get something out of it.”

“Third is also a good result for me”, echoed Zanotti. “I’m happy. It was difficult to beat Mareczko today but I’ll try to do better when the course will be a bit harder. Today we always rode at 50km/h and we arrived ahead of schedule.”

Mareczko and Zanotti have been training partners for ten years on a daily basis as they live just three kilometres apart in Brescia while Marini is only 30km up the road. Stage two from Huzhou-Changxing to Taihu Tourist Resort-Wuxing in the Zhejiang province will showcase the famous Luna Hotel in front of which another bunch sprint is expect before the hilly finish on stage 3 in Anji.

Results :
1 Jakub Mareczko (Ita) Wilier Triestina-Southeast 2:20:46
2 Nicolas Marini (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini
3 Marco Zanotti (Ita) Parkhotel Valkenburg Continental Team
4 Luke Parker (Aus) Attaque Team Gusto
5 Maris Bogdanovics (Lat) Rietumu-Delfin
6 Leonardo Fabio Duque (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence Ktm
7 Massimo Graziato (Ita) Parkhotel Valkenburg Continental Team
8 Eduard Michael Grosu (Rom) Nippo – Vini Fantini
9 Yuriy Metlushenko (Ukr) Jilun – Shakeland Cycling Team
10 Zhao Jingbiao (Chn) Hengxiang Cycling Team
11 Cristopher Mansilla Almonacid (Chi) Start Vaxes – Partizan Cycling Team
12 Siarhei Papok (Blr) Minsk Cycling Club
13 Simin Adamek (Cze) Team Dukla Praha
14 Maksym Vasilyev (Ukr) Team Lvshan Landscape
15 Rik Van Ijzendoorn (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk
16 Milan Veltman (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg Continental Team
17 Martijn Verschoor (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk
18 Dusan Kalaba (Srb) Start Vaxes – Partizan Cycling Team
19 Quentin Valognes (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk
20 Burr Ho (HKg) Hksi Pro Cycling Team
21 Ben Hill (Aus) Attaque Team Gusto
22 Armands Becis (Lat) Rietumu-Delfin
23 Yehor Dementyev (Ukr) Isd – Jorbi Continental Team
24 Feng Qiao (Chn) /Ning Xia Sports Lottery Livall Cycling Team
25 Artem Tesler (Ukr) Team Lvshan Landscape
26 Kwun Wa Law (HKg) Hksi Pro Cycling Team
27 Erdenesuren Munkhtulga (Mgl) /Ning Xia Sports Lottery Livall Cycling Team
28 Sergey Medvedev (Uzb) Beijing Xds-Innova Cycling Team
29 Juntao Meng (Chn) Team Lvshan Landscape
30 Artur Tsvetkov (Ukr) Team Lvshan Landscape
31 Gabriel Machado Da Silva (Bra) Funvic Soul Cycles – Carrefour
32 Emils Liepins (Lat) Rietumu-Delfin
33 Sofiane Merignat (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence Ktm
34 Gerd De Keijzer (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk
35 Deins Kanepejs (Lat) Rietumu-Delfin
36 Chunlong Zhang (Chn) /Ning Xia Sports Lottery Livall Cycling Team
37 Zhang Zheng (Chn) Hengxiang Cycling Team
38 Rafael Andriato (Bra) Wilier Triestina-Southeast
39 Peeter Pruus (Est) Rietumu-Delfin
40 Yong Jian Wu (Chn) Jilun – Shakeland Cycling Team
41 Hiu Fung Choy (HKg) Hksi Pro Cycling Team
42 Lucas De Rossi (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence Ktm
43 Ondrej Vendolsy (Cze) Team Dukla Praha
44 Roberto Pinheiro Da Silva (Bra) Funvic Soul Cycles – Carrefour
45 Volodymyr Gomenyuk (Ukr) Team Lvshan Landscape
46 Francisco Chamorro (Arg) Funvic Soul Cycles – Carrefour
47 Karim Khorrami (IRI) Tabriz Petrochemical Ccn Team
48 Francisco Jarley Colorado Hernandez (Col) Rts – Santic Racing Team
49 Tino Thömel (Ger) Rts – Santic Racing Team
50 Ruslan Karimov (Uzb) Rts – Santic Racing Team
51 Martz Alder (USA) Attaque Team Gusto
52 Abolfazl Nazari Daghalian (IRI) Tabriz Petrochemical Ccn Team
53 Riccardo Stacchiotti (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini
54 Valerii Taradai (Ukr) Isd – Jorbi Continental Team
55 Konrad Tomasiak (Pol) Start Vaxes – Partizan Cycling Team
56 Akramjon Sunnatov (Uzb) Beijing Xds-Innova Cycling Team
57 Yonder Godoy (Ven) Wilier Triestina-Southeast
58 Behnam Ariyan (IRI) Tabriz Petrochemical Ccn Team
59 Alex Diniz Correia (Bra) Funvic Soul Cycles – Carrefour
60 Cameron Bayly (Aus) Attaque Team Gusto
61 Andris Vosekalns (Lat) Rietumu-Delfin
62 Carlos Alexandre Manarelli (Bra) Funvic Soul Cycles – Carrefour
63 Sven Van Luijk (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg Continental Team
64 Rene Corella (Mex) Start Vaxes – Partizan Cycling Team
65 Altanzul Altansukh (Mgl) /Ning Xia Sports Lottery Livall Cycling Team
66 Darcy Ellerm-Norton (NZl) St George Merida Cycling Team
67 Mehdi Rajabi (IRI) Tabriz Petrochemical Ccn Team
68 Matthias Van Aken (Bel) Start Vaxes – Partizan Cycling Team
69 Jan Andrej Cully (Svk) Dukla Banska Bystrica
70 Wen Chung Huang (Tpe) Attaque Team Gusto
71 Ali Khademi (IRI) Tabriz Petrochemical Ccn Team
72 Nicholas Woods (Aus) St George Merida Cycling Team
73 Patrik Tybor (Svk) Dukla Banska Bystrica
74 Christopher Williams (Aus) Team Novo Nordisk
75 Brodie Talbot (Aus) St George Merida Cycling Team
76 Matyáš Strupek (Cze) Team Dukla Praha
77 Giuseppe Fonzi (Ita) Wilier Triestina-Southeast
78 Vladyslav Kreminskyi (Ukr) Isd – Jorbi Continental Team
79 Vitalii Popkov (Rus) Team Lvshan Landscape
80 Manabu Ishibashi (Jpn) Nippo – Vini Fantini
81 Timur Maleev (Ukr) Isd – Jorbi Continental Team
82 Alireza Asgharzadeh (IRI) Tabriz Petrochemical Ccn Team
83 Jozef Palcak (Svk) Dukla Banska Bystrica
84 Benjamin Harvey (Aus) St George Merida Cycling Team
85 Thomas Rabou (Ned) Hengxiang Cycling Team
86 Rinat Udod (Ukr) Isd – Jorbi Continental Team
87 Meiyin Wang (Chn) Hengxiang Cycling Team
88 Ma Guangtong (Chn) Hengxiang Cycling Team
89 Ying Hon Yeung (HKg) Hengxiang Cycling Team
90 Muradjan Halmuratov (Uzb) Beijing Xds-Innova Cycling Team
91 Michal Kesl (Cze) Team Dukla Praha
92 Matteo Draperi (Ita) Wilier Triestina-Southeast
93 Enkhtaivan Bolor-Erdene (Mgl) /Ning Xia Sports Lottery Livall Cycling Team
94 Juraj Lajcha (Svk) Dukla Banska Bystrica
95 Vladimir Lopez (Col) /Ning Xia Sports Lottery Livall Cycling Team
96 Anton Ivashkin (Blr) Minsk Cycling Club
97 Yauhen Sobal (Blr) Minsk Cycling Club
98 Peter Schulting (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg Continental Team
99 Ho San Chiu (HKg) Hksi Pro Cycling Team
100 Jay Dutton (Aus) St George Merida Cycling Team
101 Ilya* Davidenok (Kaz) Rts – Santic Racing Team
102 Oleksandr Golovash (Ukr) Minsk Cycling Club
103 Wan Yau Lau (HKg) Hksi Pro Cycling Team
104 Adne Van Engelen (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg Continental Team
105 Ka Hoo Fung (HKg) Hksi Pro Cycling Team
106 Guy Kalma (Aus) Attaque Team Gusto
107 Kristian Zimany (Svk) Dukla Banska Bystrica
108 Oleksii Kasianov (Ukr) Jilun – Shakeland Cycling Team
109 Patrick Sharpe (Aus) St George Merida Cycling Team
110 Cristobal Olavarria (Chi) Jilun – Shakeland Cycling Team
111 Dilmurdjon Siddikov (Uzb) Beijing Xds-Innova Cycling Team
112 Sergiy Grechyn (Ukr) Jilun – Shakeland Cycling Team
113 Murilo Affonso (Bra) Funvic Soul Cycles – Carrefour
114 Thomas Vaubourzeix (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence Ktm
115 Dostonbek Ollamov (Uzb) Beijing Xds-Innova Cycling Team
116 Kanstantsin Klimiankou (Blr) Minsk Cycling Club
117 Corentin Cherhal (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk
118 Jefferson Rueda Tobon (Col) Jilun – Shakeland Cycling Team
119 Roman Seliversov (Ukr) Isd – Jorbi Continental Team
120 Daniele Colli (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini
121 Stanislau Bazhkou (Blr) Minsk Cycling Club
122 Victor Nino Corredor (Col) Rts – Santic Racing Team
123 Abdullojon Akparov (Uzb) Beijing Xds-Innova Cycling Team
124 Michal Kohout (Cze) Team Dukla Praha
125 Mauricio Ortega Ramirez (Col) Rts – Santic Racing Team
126 Jan Kraus (Cze) Team Dukla Praha
127 Genki Yamamoto (Jpn) Nippo – Vini Fantini
128 Tomas Harag (Svk) Dukla Banska Bystrica 0:00:19
129 Mirko Tedeschi (Ita) Wilier Triestina-Southeast 0:01:02
130 Jos Koop (Ned) Start Vaxes – Partizan Cycling Team 0:11:06

General classification after stage 1 :
1 Oleksandr Golovash (Ukr) Minsk Cycling Club 2:27:58
2 Karim Khorrami (IRI) Tabriz Petrochemical Ccn Team 0:00:04
3 Cameron Bayly (Aus) Attaque Team Gusto
4 Riccardo Stacchiotti (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini 0:00:05
5 Yonder Godoy (Ven) Wilier Triestina-Southeast 0:00:06
6 Jakub Mareczko (Ita) Wilier Triestina-Southeast 0:00:07
7 Nicolas Marini (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini
8 Ilya* Davidenok (Kaz) Rts – Santic Racing Team
9 Peeter Pruus (Est) Rietumu-Delfin 0:00:08
10 Giuseppe Fonzi (Ita) Wilier Triestina-Southeast 0:00:09
11 Patrik Tybor (Svk) Dukla Banska Bystrica
12 Christopher Williams (Aus) Team Novo Nordisk
13 Timur Maleev (Ukr) Isd – Jorbi Continental Team 0:00:10
14 Zhao Jingbiao (Chn) Hengxiang Cycling Team
15 Meiyin Wang (Chn) Hengxiang Cycling Team
16 Deins Kanepejs (Lat) Rietumu-Delfin
17 Ben Hill (Aus) Attaque Team Gusto 0:00:11
18 Tino Thömel (Ger) Rts – Santic Racing Team
19 Maris Bogdanovics (Lat) Rietumu-Delfin 0:00:13
20 Thomas Vaubourzeix (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence Ktm
21 Peter Schulting (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg Continental Team
22 Murilo Affonso (Bra) Funvic Soul Cycles – Carrefour 0:00:14
23 Enkhtaivan Bolor-Erdene (Mgl) /Ning Xia Sports Lottery Livall Cycling Team
24 Vitalii Popkov (Rus) Team Lvshan Landscape 0:00:15
25 Leonardo Fabio Duque (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence Ktm 0:00:16
26 Siarhei Papok (Blr) Minsk Cycling Club 0:00:18
27 Andris Vosekalns (Lat) Rietumu-Delfin
28 Zhang Zheng (Chn) Hengxiang Cycling Team 0:00:19
29 Altanzul Altansukh (Mgl) /Ning Xia Sports Lottery Livall Cycling Team
30 Rafael Andriato (Bra) Wilier Triestina-Southeast
31 Lucas De Rossi (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence Ktm 0:00:20
32 Jan Kraus (Cze) Team Dukla Praha
33 Armands Becis (Lat) Rietumu-Delfin 0:00:21
34 Eduard Michael Grosu (Rom) Nippo – Vini Fantini
35 Volodymyr Gomenyuk (Ukr) Team Lvshan Landscape
36 Benjamin Harvey (Aus) St George Merida Cycling Team
37 Darcy Ellerm-Norton (NZl) St George Merida Cycling Team 0:00:22
38 Roberto Pinheiro Da Silva (Bra) Funvic Soul Cycles – Carrefour
39 Patrick Sharpe (Aus) St George Merida Cycling Team 0:00:23
40 Maksym Vasilyev (Ukr) Team Lvshan Landscape
41 Yehor Dementyev (Ukr) Isd – Jorbi Continental Team
42 Martijn Verschoor (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk
43 Ondrej Vendolsy (Cze) Team Dukla Praha
44 Mehdi Rajabi (IRI) Tabriz Petrochemical Ccn Team 0:00:24
45 Muradjan Halmuratov (Uzb) Beijing Xds-Innova Cycling Team
46 Guy Kalma (Aus) Attaque Team Gusto
47 Mauricio Ortega Ramirez (Col) Rts – Santic Racing Team 0:00:25
48 Brodie Talbot (Aus) St George Merida Cycling Team 0:00:27
49 Gabriel Machado Da Silva (Bra) Funvic Soul Cycles – Carrefour 0:00:28
50 Alex Diniz Correia (Bra) Funvic Soul Cycles – Carrefour
51 Kanstantsin Klimiankou (Blr) Minsk Cycling Club
52 Marco Zanotti (Ita) Parkhotel Valkenburg Continental Team
53 Anton Ivashkin (Blr) Minsk Cycling Club 0:00:29
54 Michal Kohout (Cze) Team Dukla Praha
55 Behnam Ariyan (IRI) Tabriz Petrochemical Ccn Team
56 Jan Andrej Cully (Svk) Dukla Banska Bystrica
57 Artem Tesler (Ukr) Team Lvshan Landscape
58 Sven Van Luijk (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg Continental Team 0:00:30
59 Abolfazl Nazari Daghalian (IRI) Tabriz Petrochemical Ccn Team
60 Oleksii Kasianov (Ukr) Jilun – Shakeland Cycling Team
61 Stanislau Bazhkou (Blr) Minsk Cycling Club
62 Rene Corella (Mex) Start Vaxes – Partizan Cycling Team
63 Thomas Rabou (Ned) Hengxiang Cycling Team
64 Sergiy Grechyn (Ukr) Jilun – Shakeland Cycling Team 0:00:31
65 Emils Liepins (Lat) Rietumu-Delfin
66 Konrad Tomasiak (Pol) Start Vaxes – Partizan Cycling Team 0:00:32
67 Matteo Draperi (Ita) Wilier Triestina-Southeast
68 Ma Guangtong (Chn) Hengxiang Cycling Team
69 Francisco Chamorro (Arg) Funvic Soul Cycles – Carrefour
70 Yauhen Sobal (Blr) Minsk Cycling Club
71 Vladyslav Kreminskyi (Ukr) Isd – Jorbi Continental Team 0:00:33
72 Wen Chung Huang (Tpe) Attaque Team Gusto
73 Milan Veltman (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg Continental Team
74 Matyáš Strupek (Cze) Team Dukla Praha 0:00:34
75 Ying Hon Yeung (HKg) Hengxiang Cycling Team 0:00:35
76 Victor Nino Corredor (Col) Rts – Santic Racing Team
77 Jozef Palcak (Svk) Dukla Banska Bystrica 0:00:36
78 Francisco Jarley Colorado Hernandez (Col) Rts – Santic Racing Team
79 Jay Dutton (Aus) St George Merida Cycling Team 0:00:37
80 Michal Kesl (Cze) Team Dukla Praha
81 Chunlong Zhang (Chn) /Ning Xia Sports Lottery Livall Cycling Team
82 Manabu Ishibashi (Jpn) Nippo – Vini Fantini
83 Cristopher Mansilla Almonacid (Chi) Start Vaxes – Partizan Cycling Team 0:00:38
84 Carlos Alexandre Manarelli (Bra) Funvic Soul Cycles – Carrefour
85 Jefferson Rueda Tobon (Col) Jilun – Shakeland Cycling Team
86 Erdenesuren Munkhtulga (Mgl) /Ning Xia Sports Lottery Livall Cycling Team
87 Luke Parker (Aus) Attaque Team Gusto
88 Yuriy Metlushenko (Ukr) Jilun – Shakeland Cycling Team 0:00:39
89 Gerd De Keijzer (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk
90 Ka Hoo Fung (HKg) Hksi Pro Cycling Team
91 Sergey Medvedev (Uzb) Beijing Xds-Innova Cycling Team
92 Martz Alder (USA) Attaque Team Gusto 0:00:40
93 Rik Van Ijzendoorn (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk
94 Artur Tsvetkov (Ukr) Team Lvshan Landscape
95 Genki Yamamoto (Jpn) Nippo – Vini Fantini 0:00:41
96 Burr Ho (HKg) Hksi Pro Cycling Team 0:00:42
97 Nicholas Woods (Aus) St George Merida Cycling Team 0:00:43
98 Quentin Valognes (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk
99 Dilmurdjon Siddikov (Uzb) Beijing Xds-Innova Cycling Team
100 Simin Adamek (Cze) Team Dukla Praha 0:00:47
101 Wan Yau Lau (HKg) Hksi Pro Cycling Team
102 Massimo Graziato (Ita) Parkhotel Valkenburg Continental Team
103 Akramjon Sunnatov (Uzb) Beijing Xds-Innova Cycling Team
104 Rinat Udod (Ukr) Isd – Jorbi Continental Team 0:00:48
105 Vladimir Lopez (Col) /Ning Xia Sports Lottery Livall Cycling Team
106 Daniele Colli (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini 0:00:50
107 Ali Khademi (IRI) Tabriz Petrochemical Ccn Team
108 Juntao Meng (Chn) Team Lvshan Landscape
109 Dusan Kalaba (Srb) Start Vaxes – Partizan Cycling Team 0:00:51
110 Adne Van Engelen (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg Continental Team
111 Kristian Zimany (Svk) Dukla Banska Bystrica
112 Cristobal Olavarria (Chi) Jilun – Shakeland Cycling Team 0:00:52
113 Hiu Fung Choy (HKg) Hksi Pro Cycling Team
114 Alireza Asgharzadeh (IRI) Tabriz Petrochemical Ccn Team
115 Sofiane Merignat (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence Ktm
116 Yong Jian Wu (Chn) Jilun – Shakeland Cycling Team 0:00:53
117 Juraj Lajcha (Svk) Dukla Banska Bystrica 0:00:56
118 Roman Seliversov (Ukr) Isd – Jorbi Continental Team
119 Matthias Van Aken (Bel) Start Vaxes – Partizan Cycling Team 0:00:57
120 Dostonbek Ollamov (Uzb) Beijing Xds-Innova Cycling Team 0:00:59
121 Abdullojon Akparov (Uzb) Beijing Xds-Innova Cycling Team 0:01:00
122 Ruslan Karimov (Uzb) Rts – Santic Racing Team 0:01:01
123 Corentin Cherhal (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk 0:01:03
124 Ho San Chiu (HKg) Hksi Pro Cycling Team 0:01:06
125 Feng Qiao (Chn) /Ning Xia Sports Lottery Livall Cycling Team 0:01:12
126 Mirko Tedeschi (Ita) Wilier Triestina-Southeast 0:01:16
127 Tomas Harag (Svk) Dukla Banska Bystrica 0:01:17
128 Valerii Taradai (Ukr) Isd – Jorbi Continental Team 0:01:27
129 Kwun Wa Law (HKg) Hksi Pro Cycling Team 0:01:34
130 Jos Koop (Ned) Start Vaxes – Partizan Cycling Team 0:12:01