Peron Goes Eighth on Stage 5 of the Tour of China I

14 September 2016

Race: Tour of China, Stage 5

Start/Finish: Leshan/ Leshan, China

Distance: 138.6 kilometers

Leshan, China – Andrea Peron earned Team Novo Nordisk its first top 10 at this year’s Tour of China 1 when he sprinted to eighth place on Stage 5. The result is Peron’s sixth career top 10 at the race.

“It was another chaotic finish but Gerd [de Keijzer] did a fantastic job leading me out in the finish and I was able to get eighth,” Peron said.

Wednesday’s 138.6-kilometer race took place in misty rain along a technical 12-lap course. Team Novo Nordisk was active from the start trying to form a breakaway, but the race remained well controlled by Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec, who held the overall race leader’s jersey, and Nippo-Vini Fantini. No break earned more than a minute gap before getting reeled in and the race came down to a bunch sprint. Nicolas Marini (Nippo-Vini Fantini) took the win.

“Gerd remembered this stage well from last year and was motivated from the start to help Andrea get a good result,” Team Novo Nordisk Sport Director Pavel Cherkasov said. “The boys are determined for the remaining stages and I believe Andrea is coming up in form.”