TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Tour de Taiwan, a five-day international cycling race starting in Taipei and ending in Kaohsiung, continued with a Stage 2 competition.
Monday’s course (March 13) covered 120.59 kilometers, ending with a mountain-top finish in Taoyuan. Weather conditions were not ideal as riders struggled with strong winds, slight rain, and chilly temperatures dipping to 12 C, per race organizers.
Taoyuan Mayor Chang San-cheng (張善政) presided over the start of the race. In a prepared speech, he pledged to give riders a special experience with a distinctive race course that would test riders' physical strength and endurance.
At 9:30 a.m, a starting pistol was fired in front of Taoyuan City Hall and the race commenced with some 60% of the race course being conducted on expressways, making for fast conditions before ultimately turning into the mountains. Riders pushed hard from the start, with Jack Aitken from ST George Continental Cycling Team breaking away, followed by Lu Shao-hsuan (盧紹軒) (Taiwan) and Hoonmin Jun (Seoul Cycling Team) in a breakaway pursuit 30 km into the race.
Lu was the first to reach the first sprint point, Datan Elementary School, gaining three points, though he soon fell back from the lead due to mechanical failure before the first climb, leaving only Aitken and Hoonmin Jun in the lead, per race organizers.
However, the peloton would eventually catch up with Aitken three km before the finish line, making for an exciting sprint finish, with Jordi Lopez Caravaca from Equipo Kern Pharma emerging as the stage winner, marking his first professional race win.
"It's an incredible feeling to secure my first professional victory here in Taiwan. The mountain-top finish was tough, but I was determined to push through and give it my all,” said Caravaca at a press conference afterward. He added, “I'm thrilled to have come out on top and to have experienced such a warm welcome in this beautiful country.”
In terms of overall ranking, Raymond Kreder kept the yellow jersey and was closely followed by Lopez Caravaca by just two seconds. Last year's winner, Benjamin Dyball, is currently sitting in 37th place, 15 seconds behind the leader.
Thailand’s Thanakhan Chaiyasombat retained the blue jersey for the second day in a row as the best Asian rider.
