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2007 Tour of Qinghai Lake: Higher and higher

by VeloNews.com

• July 13, 2007
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By Anthony Tan, VeloNews.com

Billed as “the highest race in the world,” the Tour of Qinghai Lake kicks off Saturday from Xining, 2,200 meters above sea level and the capital of China’s stunning Qinghai Lake province.

Situated in the northeast region of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, Qinghai Lake is the largest inland saltwater lake in the country, and much of the nine days of racing to follow are centered around this remarkable natural wonder.

This year marks the sixth edition of the race; inaugural winner Tom Danielson was said to be back for another crack at the title, but a nagging virus that saw him miss out on a Tour de France berth appears to have also kept him from returning to China. Instead, Danielson’s Discovery Channel teammate, Slovenian sensation Janez Brajkovic, just 23 years of age and this year’s Tour de Georgia champion, is surely a contender and one clear favorite.

In 2006 – only his second year as a professional – Brajkovic excelled in a number of ProTour events, including the Volta a Catalunya and Tour de Suisse, finishing fifth overall in both, before posting two top-five stage finishes at the Vuelta a España. This season, as well as claiming outright victory in Georgia, the wiry, 5-foot-9-inch, 115-pound Slovenian has posted four top-10 overall finishes in week-long stage races, including Tirreno-Adriatico, Tour de Romandie and the Volta a Catalunya.

Discovery Channel – the only ProTour team at this year’s Qinghai Lake tour – is clearly the team to beat, and Brajkovic has six very strong teammates to support him: Fumiyuki Beppu, Tony Cruz, Allan Davis, Fuyu Li, José Luis Rubiera and Matthew White.

Relax-Gam’s Francisco Mancebo, fourth overall in the 2005 Tour de France, is another serious player. Having quit the sport after his name was found on the Operación Puerto hit list literally hours before the start of the 2006 Tour, the Spaniard was swayed to ride again, albeit with a much lower profile – and no doubt a much smaller paycheck. Consistent performances so far this season that include a sixth place overall at the Volta a Catalunya lead one to believe he alone will make a worthy adversary for Discovery Channel.

A total of 22 teams form the best-ever line-up for the 2007 Qinghai Lake Tour, including one ProTour team, seven Pro Continental teams, seven Continental teams, and six national teams. Apart from Discovery, which is more European in its focus, Jelly Belly is America’s only other Stateside representative; Alex Candelario, Andrew Bajadali, Nick Reistad, Brian Dziewa, Matthew Rice and James Meadley are down on the bean team’s official start list.

There’s a constant theme running through all bar three stages of this year’s event: big mountains, and plenty of them. Already by the first stage riders climb skywards to 3445 meters above sea level, but on Stage 4, a 172.4km leg from Xihaizhen to Guide, the peloton will reach the race’s cima coppi, an eye-popping 3880 meters high.

History has shown the Qinghai Lake tour is one for the pure climber. In 2003, Giro d’Italia champion Damiano Cunego triumphed one year after Danielson; the year after it was Tour de Langkawi victor Ryan Cox; and last year it was Dutchman Maarten Tjallingii, who won’t be back to defend his title, even though his team is back in China.

A tantalizing $250,000 is up for grabs in the 1342.7km event with $20,850 for the overall winner, which should make for nine hard-fought stages before the race concludes back in Xining on July 22.