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Today saw the first stage of the 2013 UCI 2.1 Tour de Taiwan, a 156km day of racing over a 12km circuit that saw crashes (one involving a stationary press motorbike), fierce attacks and even fiercer winds.
The peloton enjoyed all this under a beating sun that kept temperatures somewhere in the region of 32 degrees, and it all combined to leave some very tired legs by the end of the stage.
The winner was Kirill Pozdnyakov of the Baku Cycling Project, who led King Lok Cheung of Hong Kong over the line just eight seconds ahead of the pack.
Here we have a special report on the day’s racing by Thomas Palmer of Drapac Cycling.
“Today was not what I expected when setting out for the Tour de Taiwan. Far from stories from the boys who rode last year’s of roads winding through lush green hills today we had an open, pancake flat highway circuit.
“We only really used the gutters though. With gusty wind all day and only a bridge or two to pose any other attacking opportunities the field threatened to split a few times in the gutter.
“This meant the bunch stayed on its toes and a few strong teams and riders made themselves visible but in the end a small break away survived rendering the sprint all but a trial run for the sprinters.
“I’ve just driven up the final few kilometres of tomorrow’s race. It’s promising to be spectacular and not just the scenery. The climb for the finish is short, but technical, rather steep in places and preceded by a fast winding run-in.
“This will be the first real contest for the tour overall and as a standalone stage it presents a very exciting finish. On this kind of finish the more explosive climbers and the more dynamic sprinters compete on an almost equal playing field.
“Hopefully I’m there to see it unfold and play a part myself but my tips for the day would be Sulzberger and Hucker.”
Sulzberger and Hucker sit in 17th and 15th respectively. Thomas will be back with another special report tomorrow.
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