The first stage of the Tour of Guangxi was a battle between the powerful Italian duo of Jonathan Millan and Elia Viviani (IGD). It was Viviani who managed to close the lead with 50 meters to go. Milan is currently in second place in the overall rating, four seconds behind his compatriot, and is at the top of the young rider category.
“I think it was a really great day. We didn’t have a lot of pace during the race, but in the end it turned out to be a really great race. The guys did a really great job and in the last corner I took us into the important position of the top 10, and we ran perfectly. We started early because the person in front of us had stopped. We started from close to 280 meters for the sprint, but it was a little slow. It took too long. In the end, Elia Viviani won. I could have started slower, but this is what I could do today.”
“Of course we are looking for more than that, but now we have this white jersey as the best young rider. I have to thank my teammates. They support me during the day You did a perfect job. Let’s see tomorrow. It will take another day, but I will recover as much as possible. Tomorrow I will run on full gas again!”
Sports Director Gorazd Stangeli commented: “Actually, I thought it was more like a sprint from behind because the road was wide, there was a headwind and it was a bit uphill. But Jonathan couldn’t wait any longer as they were coming up from behind. Jonathan preferred to start early because of the position he was in. He was a little too short, but in the end we were in second place, but I think he has good legs. We knew that and the team did a great job. We’re getting closer and we have a lot of chances to get better.”
Stage 2 riders will travel from Beihai to Qinzhou. The race distance is 149.6 kilometers, with an elevation difference of just 619 meters, which will again give the Italian sprinter an advantage.
