Tour of Chongming ends with dramatic sprint finish

Marta Lach from CERATIZIT-WNT Pro Cycling Team won The Tour of Chongming Island — UCI Women’s WorldTour 2024 on Thursday after winning the final stage in a dramatic sprint finish. She also claimed the green jersey for best sprinting.

Her teammate Mylène De Zoete finished second in the overall standings after entering the final stage wearing the yellow jersey.

Anne Knijnenburg of VolkerWessels Women’s Pro Cycling Team (VWT) won the polka dot jersey for the best climber, while Scarlett Souren of VWT won the white jersey with the highest individual youth total score.

During the three-stage race from Tuesday to Thursday, competitors covered a total distance of 349.3 kilometers — 108.9 kilometers in the first stage of Chongxi on Tuesday, 129 kilometers in the second stage of Chongdong on Wednesday, and 111.4 kilometers in the last stage of Chongzhong.

The final stage required racers to first complete a 30.9-kilometer circuit, and then do seven laps of a set route in the old city area of Chongming, with each lap covering 11.5 kilometers.

There were sprint points at 30.9 kilometers, 53.9 kilometers, and 76.9 kilometers. In addition, there was a 4-level climbing point at 6.7 kilometers.

At 11:40am, the final stage began under clear skies and a gentle breeze. The warmer weather allowed racers to welcome the last day in their best condition.

During the race, cyclists mostly stayed in large packs, with only brief breakaways at sprint or climbing points.

For instance, at the first race point, a six-person race team consisting of De Zoete, Lach, and close to 10 others competed for points at the second race point.

Starting from the third lap, there were consecutive racers in the big group who successfully broke through, with two leading, three chasing, and the big group following steadily.

The two leading cyclists were once 1 minute and 22 seconds ahead of the chasing group, and nearly 3 minutes ahead of the big group.

All four racers wearing jerseys were also part of the main group. Therefore, the two leading racers reached the third sprint point first, with Knijnenburg passing through the third sprint point first.

When there were still more than 30 kilometers left, the three-person pursuit team was taken over by the large group, while the two-person leading cavalry team remained, and the advantage over the large group was reduced to 1 minute and 46 seconds.

With the increase in cycling speed of large groups, the team had almost formed a “long line” and gradually narrowed the gap with the two leading riders.

After the fifth lap, the two leading racers experienced a split, with one being caught by the big group. Knijnenburg led the riders alone in the front, and the lead of the big group was controlled by three racers from CERATIZIT-WNT Pro Cycling Team behind her narrowed to 49 seconds. However, this advantage later increased to 1 minute and 13 seconds.

In the last 15 kilometers, two racers from the CERATIZIT-WNT Pro Cycling Team continued to accelerate and pursue with the big group. Knijnenburg, who led the team alone, also had a shrinking advantage as it dropped to 35 seconds, then 29 seconds, and then only 25 seconds.

Meanwhile, De Zoete, Lach, and another teammate "hid" in the big group to gather strength and wait for the final moments to make a breakthrough.

Obviously, Knijnenburg did not want to return to the big group. After entering the last lap, she resumed accelerating and extended her lead to 32 seconds. However, this situation did not last long and she was over taken by the big group in the final 4 kilometers.

Entering the last 3.5 kilometers, De Zoete and Lach, who had been “slacking off” earlier, quietly came to the front of the team.

In the last 2 kilometers, they jockeyed for position. In the last kilometer, all the sprinting racers were in place, and more than 10 rushed side by side toward the finish line.

Lach in green was the first to cross the finish line with her strong sprinting ability, securing the stage win and snatching the overall win from De Zoete. In addition, the CERATIZIT-WNT Pro Cycling Team won first place in both the stage and cumulative team total score.