Maris Bogdanovics (Rietumu Bank) left the Tour of Fuzhou with a second stage win as he outsprinted the Ukrainian duo of Andriy Kulyk and Mykhaylo Kononenko (Kolss), depriving the latter of the green jersey the day after he lost the yellow one to Jai Hindley (Mitchelton-Scott) who won the sixth edition of the race in the Fujian province. Hong Kong climbing sensation Fung Ka Hoo remained second overall.
“I was a bit crazy in the first hour,” Hindley told Cyclingnews in Yongtai.
“But the guys did their best to cover all the moves. They did a really good job and many other teams also wanted to have a sprint finish today so we knew we weren’t the only ones to have to ride at the front. There were a lot of riders to watch, within a minute on GC, that made me nervous but we went through it. I got caught up in a crash and I was sure to win only when I crossed the line and I couldn’t see the polka dot [third placed Stanislau Bazhkou of Minsk] or the guy from Hong Kong [Fung]. That was a big relief.”
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Breakaway riders Oleksandr Prevar (Kolss) and Kevin Rios Quintana (Hainan Jilun) were caught during the last of the six 18.2km laps. “We knew about the corners before the finish,” Bogdanovics explained. “We took them as the first team [at the head of the peloton]. That was great. I started sprinting too early. I thought maybe somebody would come out my wheel because there was a headwind. But I had good legs and I’m glad I could win my last race of the year, which is also the last race for the team. I was also targeting the green jersey. It’s good that I was second in the first intermediate sprint. Then I just needed to beat Kononenko on the finishing line.”
Eastern European riders shared the same sad feelings of their team folding as Rietumu Bank and Kolss have decided to pull the plug. Bogdanovics will join Amore e Vita with the hope of jumping onto the Pro Continental level and later the WorldTour. Hindley was also taking part in his last race with the feeder team of Orica-Scott although he has opted for a pro career with Sunweb. “This was my last race of the season and my last race with Mitchelton-Scott so I’m really happy to pull the win off,” the Perth native added. “It’s a nice feeling for me and the team. I guess this is the beginning of my pro career as well as my last race as a U23 so it’s great to go with a bang.”
The world of cycling will also keep an eye on 20-year -old Fung who is an amazing climber but also a good time trialist. “I’m not a good sprinter so I didn’t try to go for the intermediate sprint,” Hong Kong’s new star said. “Second of the Tour of Fuzhou is a fantastic result for me but I don’t know if I’ll improve my cycling in the future or not.”
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