Benhamouda Scores Top 10 in Changjiang at Tour of Hainan

01 November 2017

Race: Tour of Hainan, stage 5

Start/Finish: Danzhou/Changjiang, China

Distance: 167km

CHANGJIANG, CHINA – Team Novo Nordisk scored its second consecutive top 10 on Wednesday with Mehdi Benhamouda finishing eighth on stage 5 at the Tour of Hainan.

Hot weather and tired legs covered the whole peloton on Wednesday, with mid-race breakaways and a bad crash leaving many teams frantic to chase the escapees at full speed to the finish in Changjiang on Hainan’s northwest coast.

Benhamouda found assistance from Umberto Poli, who finished 10th on Tuesday, and the rest of the Team Novo Nordisk squad to get the front for the final sprint. With his eighth place on Wednesday, the French rider scored his second top 10 of the week and Team Novo Nordisk’s highest result so far at the 2017 Tour of Hainan.

Jakub Mareczko of Italy finished ahead of Estonia’s Martin Laas to win the stage, with Andriy Kulyk of Ukraine in third. All Team Novo Nordisk riders finished in the same time as the stage winner except Poli, who rode in 20 seconds behind after a full-power final pull to the line for Benhamouda.

Mehdi Benhamouda:

“It was very fast, the first hour was at least 50km average speed, and everybody is tired. There was a lot of crosswind all day, and in the end I am happy with my legs and thankful for the teamwork.”

Team Novo Nordisk Sport Director Massimo Podenzana:

“In the first half of the race today we missed the big breakaway, but after it was caught the team worked to get Mehdi ready for the finish. The important breakaway went 45k to the finish today with 5 riders, and was caught 500m to the finish.”