We were really looking forward to the first day in China and everyone had a free role to do the final sprint. As a result, our non-sprinter Saartje Vandenbroucke finished in 8th place. Four of our riders finished in the top 20, with Pascale Jeuland (14th), Bryony Van Velzen (15th) and Kelly Markus (18th). Victroire Berteau finished 28th and Daniela Reis 71st. We also got 3th in the team classification.
As usual, the second stage was one with a high average speed of over 42km/h. We tried to take a bonus second along the way to get someone extra in the top 10 of the general classification but we were not the only one who had this idea. Our riders were involved in several attempts to escape but all without success. Eventually the stage finished with another bunch sprint. Pascale managed to sprint to 5th place with the help of Daniela and Victoire. Kelly Markus crossed the finish line in 10th position, Bryony as 16th, Victoire finished 20th, Saartje 37th and Daniela 85th.
In the third stage, we tried to move up in the team-, youngster- and general classification. Our riders did what they could but we didn’t really succeed. Bryony managed to place our team in the top ten of the stage and with four riders in the top 25 we keep the 3th place in the team classification. With Pascale (10th), Bryony (13th), Kelly (18th), Victoire (22nd) and Daniela (69th), we placed four riders inside the top 25 of the general classification.
