ProTeam Joshua Giddings grabs youth jersey in the Tour of Taihu Lake

The Tour of Taihu Lake has kicked off the Chinese double-header, with next week the Guangxi race. The Asian five-day sprint race held its first stage today, where Joshua Giddings was able to take the youth jersey. "Along the way, there were two bonus sprints, and our plan was to collect as many seconds as possible," he says. "Steffen (De Schuyteneer) grabbed one second in the first, and I managed to get three in the second. That’s how I managed to secure the jersey."

At the finish line, unfortunately, the team couldn't achieve more results. "Setting up an early breakaway along the way turned out to be a futile effort. The roads here in China are flat like a billiard table and particularly wide. The peloton was constantly riding at 50 to 60 kilometers per hour, and no one could break away. The finish was chaotic again. We had set up a nice lead-out, but we lost each other's wheels too quickly, so Milan (Menten) couldn't make it to the sprint."

"Fortunately, there are still four chances ahead. At the moment, I’m also fifth in the general classification, Steffen eighth. We are highly motivated. This is my first time in China, and this is a completely new experience. I already felt during the past few days of training how much I was looking forward to this trip and how it gave me motivation."