FUZHOU, China, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Latvian cyclist Maris Bogdanovics won the last stage of Tour of Fuzhou in the 7-lap circuit in Yongtai County while Australian Hindley Jai from China's Mitchelton Scott team (MTS) kept the yellow jersey on Sunday.
The last stage of the five-day race covers the distance of 127.4kms with three sprints of 36.4kms, 72.8kms and 109.2kms. Many cyclists tried to challenge Hindley who led only four seconds after stage 4, pushing the average speed of the circuit to more than 47 km/h.
When riders attempted to attack in the last lap, some crashed to fall with 300 meters to the finish line. Bogdanovics from Latvian Rietumu Banka Riga hit the line first in 2 hours 44 minutes and 10 seconds to claim the stage victory, but not fast enough to top the general individual classification list (GC).
For the last stage, Mykhaylo Kononenko, the yellow jersey owner in the first three stages, and his teammate Anrrii Kulyk from Ukrainian Kolss ranked the second and third.
"Everyone wants to sprint well today and we're definitely not the only one group running at the front," said Hindley, "It's pretty nervous because I had to watch out here and there in the peloton. I got caught up in the crash and it was a bit crazy. When I crossed the line, I did not see the polka-dot jersey and white jersey, then I realized I might win the race. This is my first Asian victory with my Chinese teammates."
The white jersey owner Fung Ka Hoo from team of Hong Kong, China, was four seconds later, listing under Hindley as the overall second in the general individual classification and representing the best Chinese cyclist of the entire race.
Fung said his coach told him not to take risks but to secure good position in GC. "I'm not good at sprinting, so my coach did not want to see any accident in the race," said Fung, "Too many riders attacked to accelerate for podiums. Some riders fell at last and I was on the left side and slow down a bit."
Stanislau Bazhkou from Belarus Minsk cycling club kept the polka-dot jersey as the best climber in all stages and ranked the third in individual overall.
The last stage winner also grabbed the green jersey as the best sprinter from Kononenko who helped Kolss to win the team general classification. Malaysian Terengganu cycling team and Team of Hong Kong, China followed in the second and the third.
Tour of China, for the total distance of 589.4kms, has been organized for six consecutive years, winning good reputation from local citizens.
Li Chun, Deputy Mayor of Fuzhou City, told Xinhua the tour showed the local fans the world class race and made the beautiful scenes of mountains, forests and seashores of Fujian well-known worldwide through live broadcast on TV and web.
"Many citizens chose to ride after they saw the tour and they are becoming more interested in fitness and love the sports more," said Li, "The annual event is also a good engine to motivate local tourism and sports industry."
