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Edmondson clinches first title in dramatic fashion
By David Ni |
May 15, 2013, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
AUSTRALIAN Annette Edmondson won the final stage of the Tour of Chongming Island on Friday - and in doing so clinched her first title as a professional cyclist by a single second.
The 22-year-old from the Orica-AIS team had an overall time over the three stages of six hours 29 minutes and 26 seconds.
This was just one second ahead of fellow Australian Chloe Hosking, of Hitec Products UCK, who won the yellow jersey in the second stage.
The 18-year-old Argos-Shimano rider Lucy Garner, from Britain, finished third overall, after sprinting to first place in the opening stage.
Chongming native Huang Dongyan of Chongming Giant came 56th overall.
On Friday's third stage, Italian Marta Bastianelli finished the second and Edmondson's Swedish teammate Emma Johansson finished third.
Edmondson credited her teammates with guiding her throughout the three-day tour. "It's the first time I've won a yellow jersey in this kind of tour. It's really special, but what's even more amazing is how my team backed me," said Edmondson.
The three-day Tour of Chongming Island 2013 was the highest-level event of its kind in Asia.
In the first stage on Wednesday, rookie Garner clocked one hour 47 minutes 18 seconds to take her first professional victory, edging out Hosking, with Russian Oxana Kozonchuk of RusVelo third.
"I am so happy that I took the win today," Garner said afterward. "The finale was a bit hectic and I lost the wheel of my teammates, but I moved up to the front in the final kilometers and because there was a tough headwind I waited as long as possible to start sprinting.
"I'm over the moon. This is very big for me. I got the opportunity to sprint here against top sprinters but I didn't expect to win so quickly," she added.
The absence of world's best sprinter Kirsten Wild, also from Argos-Shimano, played an important role in Garner's coming of age in China.
The Dutch cyclist was forced to withdraw due to injury.
"It gave me the opportunity to sprint," Garner noted. "Hopefully, I have made her proud today.
"We're here with only four riders and my teammates did everything they could to put me on the right wheel, which was important because the headwind was pretty strong for the finish," she said.
Huang finished the 29th of the first day, the best place for a Chinese cyclist in the 73.4-kilometer course.
Italian rider Giorgia Bronzini won the second stage in pouring rain on Thursday. The two-time world champion with team Wiggle Honda, who was 11th in the opening stage, clocked two hours 44 minutes and 26 seconds to claim victory, with Hosking second, followed by Edmondson in third.
"I felt very good through the whole race, and my teammates worked hard for me right to the finish line," said Bronzini.
The course of the second stage had more sharp corners and some of the roads were much narrower with strong winds blowing, which had caused problems for some cyclists.
But the tougher conditions were welcomed by experienced cyclists such as Bronzini and Hosking.
"I'd have like the race to be longer with stronger wind," said Hosking.
Huang came 44th, the best place among the Chinese cyclists in the 113.7-kilometer course, while her Giant teammate Jiang Xiujie did not finish the race due to injury.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Tetyana Riabchenko of Chirio Forno d'Asolo won the Tour of Chongming Island World Cup on Sunday by a 12-second margin.
The 126.8km race started at the Oriental Sports Center in the Pudong New Area and included the Shanghai Changjiang Tunnel-Bridge across to Chongming Island.
Riabchenko, who had never won an international race before, clocked three hours four minutes and 17 seconds, outsprinting Bronzini and the Netherlands' Amy Pieters of team Argos Shimano in the last stage.
Riabchenko described the victory as enormously satisfying.
"I can't believe I've managed to win," she said. "I prepared well for this race but I never thought I would beat them. Luck has been on my side today."
The 22-year-old from the Orica-AIS team had an overall time over the three stages of six hours 29 minutes and 26 seconds.
This was just one second ahead of fellow Australian Chloe Hosking, of Hitec Products UCK, who won the yellow jersey in the second stage.
The 18-year-old Argos-Shimano rider Lucy Garner, from Britain, finished third overall, after sprinting to first place in the opening stage.
Chongming native Huang Dongyan of Chongming Giant came 56th overall.
On Friday's third stage, Italian Marta Bastianelli finished the second and Edmondson's Swedish teammate Emma Johansson finished third.
Edmondson credited her teammates with guiding her throughout the three-day tour. "It's the first time I've won a yellow jersey in this kind of tour. It's really special, but what's even more amazing is how my team backed me," said Edmondson.
The three-day Tour of Chongming Island 2013 was the highest-level event of its kind in Asia.
In the first stage on Wednesday, rookie Garner clocked one hour 47 minutes 18 seconds to take her first professional victory, edging out Hosking, with Russian Oxana Kozonchuk of RusVelo third.
"I am so happy that I took the win today," Garner said afterward. "The finale was a bit hectic and I lost the wheel of my teammates, but I moved up to the front in the final kilometers and because there was a tough headwind I waited as long as possible to start sprinting.
"I'm over the moon. This is very big for me. I got the opportunity to sprint here against top sprinters but I didn't expect to win so quickly," she added.
The absence of world's best sprinter Kirsten Wild, also from Argos-Shimano, played an important role in Garner's coming of age in China.
The Dutch cyclist was forced to withdraw due to injury.
"It gave me the opportunity to sprint," Garner noted. "Hopefully, I have made her proud today.
"We're here with only four riders and my teammates did everything they could to put me on the right wheel, which was important because the headwind was pretty strong for the finish," she said.
Huang finished the 29th of the first day, the best place for a Chinese cyclist in the 73.4-kilometer course.
Italian rider Giorgia Bronzini won the second stage in pouring rain on Thursday. The two-time world champion with team Wiggle Honda, who was 11th in the opening stage, clocked two hours 44 minutes and 26 seconds to claim victory, with Hosking second, followed by Edmondson in third.
"I felt very good through the whole race, and my teammates worked hard for me right to the finish line," said Bronzini.
The course of the second stage had more sharp corners and some of the roads were much narrower with strong winds blowing, which had caused problems for some cyclists.
But the tougher conditions were welcomed by experienced cyclists such as Bronzini and Hosking.
"I'd have like the race to be longer with stronger wind," said Hosking.
Huang came 44th, the best place among the Chinese cyclists in the 113.7-kilometer course, while her Giant teammate Jiang Xiujie did not finish the race due to injury.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Tetyana Riabchenko of Chirio Forno d'Asolo won the Tour of Chongming Island World Cup on Sunday by a 12-second margin.
The 126.8km race started at the Oriental Sports Center in the Pudong New Area and included the Shanghai Changjiang Tunnel-Bridge across to Chongming Island.
Riabchenko, who had never won an international race before, clocked three hours four minutes and 17 seconds, outsprinting Bronzini and the Netherlands' Amy Pieters of team Argos Shimano in the last stage.
Riabchenko described the victory as enormously satisfying.
"I can't believe I've managed to win," she said. "I prepared well for this race but I never thought I would beat them. Luck has been on my side today."
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