Hamilton leading Tour of Qinghai Lake
- By VeloNews.com
- Published Jul. 19, 2008
Rock Racing’s Tyler Hamilton on Saturday defended his overall lead in China’s Tour of Qinghai Lake, holding a ten-second lead going into Sunday’s final stage.
Hamilton won Friday’s stage 8 — his first race win in four years — by outsprinting Poland’s Mark Rutkiewicz. The pair finished more than a minute ahead of the field including former race leader Hossein Askari (Tabriz Petrochemical Team). The win moved him from fourth to first place.
Rutkiewicz attacked on the descent after the day’s only major climb on the 93-mile race from Xining to Menyuan. Hamilton followed and the pair bombed down the 20-mile descent to put 1:13 on Askari and 1:17 into previous second-place David McCann (Giant Asia Racing) while Rutkiewicz climbed from fifth to second.
“You have to be realistic here — those two Iranian guys (Askari and Mizbani) are unbelievable, probably the strongest climbers in the race, so you have to take your opportunities,” Hamilton said. “You can do you best on the climbs, but I’d be kidding myself if I thought I could ride away from those guys on the hill.”
On Saturday, Hamilton finished the same time as stage winner Jure Kocjan to retain his overall lead going into the final stage, a 110km circuit race in the city of Xining.
Photo Gallery
FILED UNDER: Road