Silvia Zanardi sprinted to her first WorldTour podium by finishing third on the opening stage of the Tour of Chongming Island in China.
“Although today didn’t go fully to plan I am happy to get my first WorldTour podium,” the 24-year-old said after. “Every sprint is different,” she reiterated.
Following the lead-out trains of UAE Team ADQ and VolkerWessels Women’s Pro Cycling Team, Zanardi skipped off the wheels into some free space, taking the final podium spot on the finish photo.
“I found a gap to the right and took off,” she explains. “Maybe it was a little too early. I still have to learn a lot but I’m on the right team to be able to do that.”
The team controlled the race well from the outset in wet conditions, not letting any breakaway get a significant lead on the flat 109 km route touring the west side of the island.
Giada Borghesi, Barbara Malcotti, and Wiktoria Pikulik all kept pace at the front throughout with Katia Ragusa then infiltrating a large breakaway move inside the final 40 km. With almost every team represented, the groups came back together for the final run back to Chongming New City Park.
After another solo breakaway, it all came down to the first mass sprint of the week. Daria Pikulik went into the stage a favorite but was further from free space than Zanardi, with the duo then making the best out of the double-sprinter format in this week’s roster.
“All my teammates did great today,” said Zanardi. “We were a little unlucky, but I’m sure we will make up for it in the coming days.”
The Tour of Chongming Island continues tomorrow with a 129 km flat stage that begins out to the east in Shanghai Changxing Island before finishing in the reverse of stage one’s finish. It is expected to be another bunch sprint.
Tour of Chongming Island Stage 1 results
1 DE ZOETE Mylène – CERATIZIT-WNT Pro Cycling Team 2:29:07
2 NEUMANOVA Tereza – UAE Team ADQ ”
3 ZANARDI Silvia – Human Powered Health ”
4 VAN ROOIJEN Sofie – VolkerWessels Women’s Pro Cycling Team ”
5 SOUREN Scarlett – VolkerWessels Women’s Pro Cycling Team ”
6 QI Wenjia – Bodywrap LTwoo Women’s Cycling Team ”
7 TOMASI Laura – Laboral Kutxa – Fundación Euskadi ”
8 KUMIEGA Karolina – UAE Team ADQ ”
9 RÅNES BYE Camilla – Team Coop – Repsol ”
10 STEWART Lucinda – ARA | Skip Capital ”
