World Wide Cycling
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Third
Tour De Qinghai Lake, 2004 July 17 - 25 Report
by Michael Carter: Marco Polo rider, former top-pro, professional cycling
trainer in the USA at Echelon Sports. Check www.espcycling.com
Michael
Carter from the USA in action in the Qinghai Lake Tour in China. (Photographer:
Lin Chia-Shin) For
starters, let me explain how to pronounce some key Chinese words. In particular
words like "Qinghai." In Chinese, a word beginning with "Qi"
is pronounced like "chee" as in "chee-se burger." A word
like Xining, is pronounced "shee ning." This
is the report about the Qinghai Lake Tour, a UCI 2.3 stage race around a huge
lake called Qinghai Lake in the west of China, the race starts and finishes in
the city of Xining and is at altitudes up to 4000 meters (13,000 feet). This
years Tour certainly seemed as though it would offer a bit more of a challenge
than last year, and even the year before when I helped Tom Danielson win his
first of what is no doubt to be many, international races. The UCI upgraded this
years tour to a 2.3, which provides for more of those ever precious UCI points
that are so critical to any rider hoping to elevate their status as a
professional (and earn more money!). This year the Marco Polo Cycling Team had the following line-up in the Qinghai Lake Tour: Cory Lange from Canada (winner of the Tour de Korea 2004), New Zealander Robin Reid (2nd in the Tour of Wellington 2004), "Oggi" Jamsran Ulzii-Orshikh from Mongolia, Ben Robson from New Zealand and Tim Wilson from Australia. Chinese Linna Zhang, Wilco Geerts from the Netherlands and Nathan Dahlberg from New Zealand took care of the support for the team.
Team manager Nathan Dahlberg with Robin Reid and Cory Lange. (Photographer: Linna Zhang) Stage
1, Circuit Race in Xining - 104 K A
bit different from last year, but this opening stage still offered a fairly
"gentle" profile on a 16
K circuit (8 laps). Rather
non-descript really, except for the cheering fans - numbered to be close to
750,000 I was told by our translator. What
is (was) unique about this first stage as opposed to other "big" races
is that the teams are obligated to sit through a fairly formal opening ceremony.
Each team is paraded across a stage in front of tens of thousands of spectator's
and also what seemed like hundreds of dignitaries. The Chinese are gearing up
for the 2008 Olympics and they see the Tour de Qinghai Lake as an appropriate
venue to practice their "pomp and circumstance." Don't get me wrong - the ceremonies are impressive. It is
rare for cyclists to participate in ceremonies of such extravagance, so
"pretty cool" to experience that kind of production. The speeches, the
number of people, the number of different ethnic groups dressed in ethic
"garb" added to the color of the ceremonies. I have been told that
there are 52 different ethnic groups in the Qinghai (remember - that is
pronounced "ching-high") Province alone, and each ethnic group was
represented at the opening ceremonies.
Ben Robson from New Zealand in front of the many spectators. (Photographer: Linna Zhang) Following
the grandiose opening ceremony, the race finally started. It was good to race at
the brand-new Bontrager wheels that the Marco Polo Cycling Team will be racing
on from now on. Nothing significant to report except that rain was eminent.
After lap 4, I could see that the
rain was coming, and given the dust on the course, and the "S" turn at
the bottom of the small downhill on the course, I decided to get up to the
front, and avoid any of the riff-raff that
was sure to follow in the event it did rain. The dust was unreal, so if it was
to rain, better to be at the front and avoid any problems that might crop up in
the field. The rain did start to fall, so I went to the very front of the field
and ended up off the front with Alex Lavellee from the Canadian National Team.
With wet slick roads I knew that crashes were sure to occur in the field,
so off the front was the place to be. Alex as a Canadian, surely had experience
on slippery surfaces ( ALL Canadians play hockey right? And hockey is on ice
right? Ice is pretty slippery, right?) Thought we might just make it to the end.
Turns out, Alex has very little experience in a hockey rink, hence not so good
on slippery surfaces. I found myself waiting (not a good thing in a two-up
break) for him to get his slip-sliding under control. Needless
to say, we were caught after 5 laps, but not before we both picked up a few time
bonuses. Alex picked up 4 seconds, I picked up 2. With that Alex was in 4th on
G.C. and I was 8th on G.C. at the end of the day. Viktor Rupinsky won the stage,
and 2nd and 3rd on the stage received their bonuses as did a few other riders as
they scooped up time-bonuses just before the last lap. Feeling
good I must admit! Stage
2, Xining to Xihaizhen, 182 K Nathan
believes that this could be one of the hardest, if not THE hardest stages of the
tour. I agree. At 187 K's, with a max altitude of 3,450 meters, the altitude
will certainly effect the Pro's from Europe. First 60 K's are flat, then we
start climbing for another 20 to 25 K. After that we reach the lake of Qinghai
(that is what the tour is named after, that lake "Qinghai Hu" and
"hu" means "lake" in Chinese - FYI). The course wraps around
the lake and features a few big rollers with cross winds. I make it over the
climb OK, as does Cory, Rob, Ben and Oggi. Never did see Tim once the climb
started - learned later that he had to stop as he was feeling ill. Rats, we
needed him for this race, but it is a bike race and those things happen.
Just as we approach the lake we make a right run and a cross wind starts,
Cory is in the "sweet spot" right on Rupinsky's wheel.
The rest of us are in the gutter clinging to life.
The group splits with Cory in the first group.
I am in the second group - all the rest of the Marco Polo guys are
behind. Being pissed off I drive
the second group, with hopes of making contact with the first group. Enduring all the yelling and pissing and moaning of the
Italians and other guys, I forge ahead and end up jumping across by myself to
the first group. Not long after I
joined the first group there is a KOM sprint, which really is no big deal.
However, after the KOM there is a decent onto a plateau with strong cross
winds. With 30K to go the big
attacks start. Navigator's have
five of their six guys up there. Cory
misses a split and I start to follow and counter attacks that come mostly from
the team from Kazakhstan. With 6K
to go Jeff Louder of Navigators makes a brilliant move and jumps away from us.
With 5K to go I end up off the front chasing Jeff with Iglinsky of the
Kazakh team, but were reeled in with 2.5 to go. Louder wins and it looks like GC is beginning to take shape.
Mongolian Jamsran Ulzii-Orshikh in a chasegroup in the high altitude landscape of the Qinghai area. (Photographer: Linna Zhang) Stage
3. Xihaizhen-Niaodao (Bird Island)
152 K The last two years I have done this race, I have drilled it from the start and have split the field into a winning break of 12-15 guys. This year Nathan suggest to me that I conserve my energy and let someone else spend the energy to split the field. It looked like Ghader Mizbahni, Chris Baldwin and Burk Swindlehurst were going to do just that. I couldn't follow Mizbahni when he attached to the KOM at K 26.1, but I did manage to follow the Phonak rider, Fertonani, and bridge up to those three with Ryan Cox of South Africa. However, we never organized and the whole field reformed. The difficulty in this stage is that we follow the perimeter of the lake, which means big cross winds. Rob Reid was the ultimate teammate in helping me make the front split. Just as Rob died, after having ridden in the wind with no protection at all for at least 6 K, the pace picked up. Rob took me right to Cory and he took me to within 75 meters of the split. Put in a flat out effort to bridge a gap that seemed as though each centimeter was more difficult to close than the last. I was the last rider to make the first group on the split that day. Rob and Cory were awesome!! We were looking great at this point. All my principal rivals had lost time on the previous stages. I had only lost time due to bonus sprints and none of those guys that had won those sprints could climb. Things were looking like a top three finish - for sure.
The Marco Polo Cycling Team pulling at the front of the peloton, Jamsran Ulzii-Orshikh, Cory Lange and Michael Carter. (Photographer: Lin Chia-Shin) Stage
4. Niaodao-Qinghai Lake Hotel 120 K Last year with 20 K to go, the Italians split the field and helped Damiano Cunego position himself for the win. I lost 57 seconds and saw my hopes of a top three finish in the overall ride up the road. This year I was more nervous for this stage than any of the other stages for that reason. I was bound and determined to survive this day and not lose time. Once again, Rob and Cory helped me more than I can say. I survived every split that occurred and ended up finishing in the first group. Things were looking great for us, except for the fact that Cory had picked up a bug from Ben, who had now dropped out of the race due to illness brought on perhaps by Tim. Shoot. Down to three healthy Marco Polo riders left in the race.
Chinese national television filmed from a plane and spectators even came watching the race passing at a highway. (Photographer: Linna Zhang) Stage
5. Qinghai Lake Hotel - Xining 173
K This
stage featured a course that took us around the east end of the lake, as we did
in Stage 2. From the eastern most
end of the lake we descended back down to Xining. First four days were stressful
and hectic with the wind. So this day seemed to offer a relatively innocent
stage. But it wasn't to be. Phil Zaiyceck, (apologies Phil, I know that is not
how you spell your last name) Burke Swindlehurst (both of Navigators) an Italian
from DaNardi (a division 1 team) and Jeremy Maartens of South Africa ended up
off the front. At one point of the
stage with 70K to go they had over 8 minutes lead on the field. I tried to talk
to the Kazakh's and the team from Japan, Nippo - Hondo, as well as the team from
South Africa to help us chase. Giant knew that Mizbahni was in trouble with that
kind of a lead and helped chase. The Kazakhs helped for maybe 10 K, Nippo did
for maybe 5 K - the gap did come down to 2:53 in the end, but knowing how well
Phil could climb I knew first place was sewn up. Burke had already lost time and
so Phil was the big threat to GC. I
have known Phil for a long time. He came to one of the first Regional Selection
Camps that I ran for USA Cycling years ago as a young rider with a mountain of
enthusiasm. Phil did not really display any outstanding talents at that camp,
but his dedication and toughness was proving to pay off for him. He was a
dedicated domestique for riders like Scott Moninger and Tom Danielson in the
past and like most domestiques, received very little recognition for his
selfless efforts.
I
knew that Phil was going to win this race despite the valiant effort by Cory,
Rob, Oggi and two of the other Giant riders chasing. The race was now for 2nd.
Michael Carter and Cory Lange. (Photographer: Linna Zhang)
Stage
6. Xining-Menyuan 153 K. Finally
the first big mountain day arrives. I am so happy to see this stage coming - no
more cross wind battles, just the big 30 K climb to 3,792 meters. Trouble was,
at 3:00 in the morning I woke to shooting pain in my kidneys and stomach. I
tried to repeat to myself that it was not big deal and that I would be just
fine....this was NOT happening. I had survived the most difficult parts of the
race for me with the best parts to come. But...just
wasn't to be. As the stage started, Navigator's controlled the race on the first
flat 8 K. The climb doesn't really start until 100K.
At a 111 K the KOM comes at 3,792 meters, descends to 130 K and 2,950
meters and then a 23 K flat run in to the finish. I felt ok the first 100K and
as the climb started felt my body shut down. I went from a sixth wheel behind
Mizbahni and company and blew. I knew at that point my GC spot for Qinghai was
gone. The worst part of it for me was knowing that Rob and Cory had sacrificed
for me and it was all for naught. I limped my way to the top and crawled to the
finish, 7 minutes down....RATS! Stage
7. Manyuan-Huzhu 167 K. In
yesterday's stage Phil did get dropped from Phonak's Fertonani, Ryan Cox of
South Africa and Mizbahni. But those crafty Navigators had Chris Baldwin, Burke
Swinderhurst and Jeff Louder stay with Phil and on the descent and the run in to
the finish drilled it and conserved Phil's lead of over 2 minutes. Today was
another repeat performance; first 110 K were slightly down hill through some of
the most beautiful parts bike races go through. The course followed a river
valley with huge peaks on either side that go to over 3,400 meters. Actually
felt better at the start but just as soon as the intensity picked up exact same
as yesterday. I had lost another 7 minutes. Mizbahni, Cox, Fertonani and Kazak
were away over the top with a lead of over 2 minutes on Phil at the descent.
Navigators subscribed to the same tactic as yesterday. Baldwin, Louder and
Swinderhurst stayed with Phil on the climb and then together they drilled it
again and caught the break away at the line.
Stage
8. Xining-Ledu-Xining 130 K This
stage turned out to be more of a formality. An out and back course of flat
roads. There would be absolutely no
change for the GC standings as the field conceded the win to Navigators.
Navigators did the classic team time trial at the front all day. When things go
well for a team sometimes they really go well. After working all day long
Navigator's Rupinski out sprinted everyone and took the stage. The thing about
this stage was the rain and the filth on the roads. Normally a rain washes away
the grime and dirt but here in China the rain turns the roads into what looks
like muddy dirt roads. We were absolutely filthy at the end of this stage.
Stage
9. Xining Circuit Race
110 K This
is a flat circuit, essentially the same as the opening day. Great weather all
day, no break aways, Navigators controlled the whole stage again. Phil wins
individual GC. Of note, on the Marco Polo side, we seem to have a new
sprinter.....Cory goes for it in the final gallop and ends up 12th. Not bad at
all for a rider who says he can't sprint. And so goes the 2004 Tour of Qinghai
Lake. The one thing about cycling is there is always another race. Next big tour
coming up is Tour of Hokkaido, hopefully I will have a more successful Marco
Polo story to tell.
New Zealander Robin Reid qualified and raced in the Olympics in Athens, here posing in front of the Chinese police. (Photographer: Linna Zhang) |
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