Ukraine's Lagkuti crowned in 15th Tour of Qinghai Lake

Yevgeniy Gidich of Vino 4-ever SKO (blue jersey in left), Sergiy Lagkuti of Kolss-BDC (yellow jersey in mid) and Mauricio Ortega of RTS-Santic racing (polka-dot jersey in right) stand at the starting line of the last stage of the 2016 Tour of Qinghai Lake in Gansu Province on July 30, 2016. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

BAIYIN -Ukrainian Sergiy Lagkuti of the Kolss-BDC team (KLS) - UKR was crowned winner of the 15th 'Qinghai Rural Credit Cup' Tour of Qinghai Lake (UCI 2.HC) that concluded on Saturday. Italian Jakub Mareczko of Wilier Triestina – southeast (WIL) – ITA was the stage winner in the last race of the tour.

The 31-year-old Lagkuti took the yellow jersey from his teammate, compatriot Vitaliy Buts, in the second last race in Zhongwei, Ningxia Hui autonomous region. Buts was the race leader from Stage 3 to Stage 11.

Mauricio Ortega of the RTS-Santic racing team (RTS) – TPE locked the polka-dot jersey as the best climber. Daniele Colli of Nippo-Vini Fantini (NIP) - ITA secured the green jersey for the sprint leader. Yevgeniy Gidich of Vino 4-ever SKO (V4E) - KAZ claimed the blue jersey for the best Asian rider.

The last stage was an eight-lap circuit race in Baiyin, China's Gansu province, covering a total distance of 95 kilometers. Carlos Quintero of the China Continental Team of Gansu Bank (GTQ) – CHN was recognized as the most aggressive rider. Three Chinese cycling teams competed in this year's Tour of Qinghai Lake.

"More and more people are interested in the Tour of Qinghai Lake. Based on statistics from Sina and Tencent, 0.3 billion people followed race news at its peak time," said Zhang Ning, head of the Qinghai Sports Competitions Administration Center.

This year's Tour of Qinghai Lake covered 3,631 kilometers within three provinces in Northwest China. It was a race from the lowest altitude, 1,100 meters, to the maximum standing at 4,120 meters. To celebrate the 15-year anniversary of the Tour of Qinghai Lake, the number of racing teams increased from 22 to 23.