The sixth stage of the Tour of China I was all about the sprinters. After the past few days were rather hectic and hilly, but we were still able to place well, Team Stuttgart finally burst the knot today.
In Chengdu Dayi, Tino Thömel was able to win the sprint of the field with a clear lead.
25 kilometers before the finish line, the last executioner was waiting for the peloton with a third category climb. Here, a 15-man lead group left the field, but this could be stopped again thanks to the tracking work of Max Walsleben and Niko Holler as well as the other sprinter teams.
The final was bittersweet for us. Niko fell 300 meters before the finish, which slowed Martin Reinert down a bit and unfortunately just missed out on the top 10. Nonetheless, we were happy. At that point, Tino was already on course for victory. With a solid lead, he finally secured the day's win ahead of Russian Boris Shpilevski and Kazakh Pavel Katskiy.
Tomorrow we continue in China. Wish us luck!