Martin Laas wins Hainan cycle tour stage two
Estonian cyclist Martin Laas won stage two of the Tour of Hainan, in China.
Laas rides for the Ferei Quick-Panda Podium Mongolia Team, and found conditions quite hot in the stage in the island province.
He said of the stage: "We could say it was a calm day, because we knew it would end in a group finish, and the weather was a little warmer than yesterday, or around 34-35 degrees Celsius."
"My bike's computer consistently showed it was 40-41 degrees, but thankfully, there was enough ice and water on hand in the team car to keep cool, so there was no risk of overheating," Laas said.
"The race went according to plan. The boys did a great job making sure I was in the right place and fresh for the final few kilometers."
Martin Laas wins Stage 2 ! Aaron Gate takes second place with Timothy Dupont in 3rd ! #TOH2024 pic.twitter.com/4F79dA7WuN
— Tour of Hainan (@tourofhainan) August 28, 2024
Laas earned himself the leader's jersey in stage two off the back of a third place finish in stage one.
He was part of the peloton in stage two and caught up with Australian Ethan Batt about five kilometers before the finish line.
Laas had the stronger legs when it came to the final sprint, delivering an impressive burst of speed to cross the finish line and with one fist raised in triumph, edging out another Australian, Aaron Gate, and Belgian Timothy Dupont by at least a bike's length.
The peloton completed the stage with a time of 4:06:04
Three other Estonians competed: Mihkel Räim, whoe finished in 27th place, Oskar Nisu came 95th, and Gleb Karpenko placed 107th.
This puts them in 64th, 9th and 106th position respectively overall.
#TOH2024 Stage 2:
— Tour of Hainan (@tourofhainan) August 28, 2024
Martin Laas (PPT)
Aaron Gate (BBH)
Timothy Dupont (TIS)
Martin Laas (PPT)
Martin Laas (PPT)
❤️ Luke Mudgway (ROI)
Mohammed nur Aiman Rosli (TSG) pic.twitter.com/0xjUbQ23zF
Laas now heads into the third stage wearing the yellow leader's jersey, holding a four-second lead over Italian Jakub Mareczko.
Stage three on Thursday is 181.3 kilometers long.
The Tour of Hainan is five stages in total, with the last taking place Saturday.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
