00:00Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada
00:30...in its 17th edition in the year 2026, a beautiful five-day race across the tropical island province that has
00:38so far taken us from the north to the south coast in three leaps.
00:44Today, we leave behind us the mountains of Wujisan, which shaped the race on stage two and gave us a
00:50new race leader, and we head for the Chinese Riviera and a finish in Lingshui, overlooking Monkey Island, the reserve.
01:00Specially for the Makok Monkeys.
01:03This is a beautiful part of the world, and the finish today is next to the Ocean Paradise Complex.
01:10The scene is set then, and this is what awaits the riders.
01:14A slightly modified route.
01:16The original plan was that they would race over 217 kilometres, but given the forecast of strong headwinds, the race
01:24organisers have shaved about 30 kilometres off.
01:27But that doesn't mean that there aren't three categorised climbs and two intermediate sprints before a possible bunch finish in
01:35Lingshui.
01:35Where last time out, the Serbian winner of stage one, Dusan Rajevic, last year, tasted victory.
01:43A new race leader, though, in the colours of XDS Astana, wearing the yellow jersey, and that is the Uruguayan,
01:50Tomas Silva.
01:51All the big names and the jersey wearers then lined up, making their last preparations, including Rajevic, and including the
01:58man in the green jersey in second place, threatening the yellow jersey of Tomas Silva.
02:03That is Javier Beresategui of the Uscar del Uscari team, rolling out then over a 193.8, slightly modified stage,
02:14that will take them definitively to the south coast.
02:18Hot temperatures, a stiff headwind, and XDS Astana on an absolute mission, splitting up the race early on.
02:25Fausto Masnada taking King of the Mountains points at the first climb and then going off in pursuit of more
02:31in the company of the man in the King of the Mountains jersey, Igor Shijan.
02:36But it's XDS Astana who really take things up and make the race very hard.
02:41The provisional rankings then, Igor Shijan after all the climbs completed with a 20-point lead in the King of
02:48the Mountains competition.
02:49Not that that bothered XDS Astana, who continued to ride hard on the front for their leader, Tomas Silva, and
02:55the man in the blue jersey of the best Asian, and that is Nikola Vinokorov.
03:00Approaching the second and final intermediate sprint of the day then, with no breakaway up the road, there were bonus
03:06seconds on offer for the top 24 riders.
03:09Everybody interested in picking up the three, two, and one bonus seconds.
03:14Thomas Pezzenti being led out by his Palti Visit Malta team, but it was Bhaktis Feistrofa of Lotto Antomarche who
03:21held off the challenge of Beres Ategi to pick up three points.
03:25Beres Ategi in second place, picking up two points.
03:31And they could be significant by the end of the day.
03:33Inside the last 30 kilometres then, the attack's coming thick and fast, and a three-rider group, including Bardiani's Manoeli
03:40Tarozzi, getting up the road, joined by the Australian Fergus Browning and the Frenchman Lucas De Rossi of the Chinese
03:48team.
03:50China Anta-Mentec cycling team.
03:52With a becalmed bunch, and Arctea Sastana not prepared to ride these three down, as there's no threat in the
03:59general classification.
03:59The trio started to build up a lead, but MBH Bank had different ideas.
04:06With their entire team in the selection of no more than about 30, 35 riders, they put a rider on
04:12the front, and suddenly they started to wilt under the pressure.
04:16De Rossi was dropped first of all, as MBH Bank brought them back one by one, closing the gap that
04:23was 40 seconds to just 10 seconds as De Rossi was swept up.
04:29Browning, at this point, still off the front with Tarozzi, but joined by one of the riders from MBH Bank
04:34team.
04:36Uscartel Uscardi as well, launching a rider across the gap to make it four at the front of the race,
04:40with Masnada, his teammate, towards the back in the company of the King of the Mountains.
04:45The attack's coming thick and fast, and Tarozzi joined by that rider from MBH Bank.
04:51Uscartel Uscardi forcing the yellow jersey to work at the front.
04:56Thomas Silva already expending a lot of energy as XDS Astana, having really exhausted their resources, and no more domestiques
05:05left, put their leaders on the front, including Nikola Vinokorov in the blue jersey.
05:10And then a big attack from Baptiste Veistrofer.
05:13Having picked up those three seconds at the intermediate sprint, he's now just seven seconds off the race lead of
05:19Thomas Silva, instantly getting a gap, forcing Cajarural to chase.
05:23But Veistrofer, the only rider in this selection of riders in the red of Lotto Anta Marche, a difficult man
05:30to catch.
05:31On the attack every single day here in Hainan, and now this was a play not just for the stage,
05:36but potentially for the yellow jersey.
05:38Carter Bettles, the Oceania champion, going off in pursuit for the Rujai insurance team from Thailand.
05:44And at the back, in the main peloton, Silva asking for cooperation and not getting it.
05:49It's no one prepared to work with the race leader to bring back the attackers at the front of the
05:54race.
05:55So, trouble then for XDS Astana, really struggling to control the race.
06:00A lull in the action, just inside eight kilometres then, was the opportunity for the Cypriot rider from the Quick
06:07Pro team, Andreas Miltiades, to launch an attack.
06:10One check back to see if he'd got a gap, which he had, and the Cypriot national road race champion
06:15committed to his effort.
06:18Looking round behind to see which of the teams and which of the riders was going to take the responsibility
06:23to bring Miltiades back.
06:25And Miltiades profiting from the confusion behind.
06:28XDS Astana not prepared to ride.
06:30Polti visit Malta looking round, as well as Solutions Tech Nippa rally.
06:35In the end, it was MBH Bank trying to get across to the wheel of the Cypriot, with five kilometres
06:40to go though.
06:41Still, he had an advantage of around about seven seconds.
06:44After that, it was Finlay Walsh who tried to get across, but he gave up as well.
06:49Strong ride from the Cypriot, closer, ever closer to the finish line, where, in a change of direction, the course
06:55would go downhill and pick up a tailwind that would only be to his benefit.
06:59Over the top of that last little climb then, and Miltiades still with a few seconds in the bank, holding
07:05off a challenge this time from Polti visit Malta.
07:07But now blown towards the Flamme Rouge in the final kilometre, by a tailwind, Miltiades, the 11-time national time
07:15trial champion of Cyprus.
07:17The six-time national road race champion, taking a first-ever professional victory, ahead of a sprint for the minor
07:24placings, that went to Daniel Kavija.
07:26With the Basque rider, Berasategui, significantly getting third place, but no doubt about the win though, it was Miltiades and
07:35a brilliant victory from the Cypriot rider.
08:02He certainly did, and what an impressive victory that was, ahead of the sprint that was won by Kavija.
08:08With Berasategui in third place on the stage, Alexander Konishev picking up fourth, and Nikola Vinokorov propping up the top
08:15ten in tenth place.
08:16A two-second time gap on the line, but a new majo-john, Javier Berasategui, with the bonus seconds that
08:23he picked up then, the new leader of the race.
08:29A crazy race, a lot of attacks, a lot of counter-attacks, but in the end, from that small group,
08:37it wasn't a victory, but it was a good result nonetheless.
08:41And the race is still wide open in the Tour of Hainan.
08:46We've been seeing you for someblemished, again.
08:49We've been seeing you in the Tour of Hainan.
08:50We've been seeing you in the Tour of Hainan.
08:52I'm S Lwatchin.
08:58We've been seeing you in the Tour called Paul de Souza, de Souza.
09:06You can see you in the Tour of Hainan.
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