Peron Adds Second Top 10 at Tour of China Closer

Race: Tour of China, Stage 6

Start/Finish: Xinzhou/ Xinzhou, China

Distance: 99.6 kilometers

Xinzhou, China – Team Novo Nordisk’s Andrea Peron earned his second straight top 10 finish at the Tour of China when he sprinted to ninth on Stage 6.

“It was a confusing and hectic day because of the short stage and the overall still being on the line,” Peron said. “There were attacks all day and I tried a few times to get away. Nothing ever stuck. With the last five kilometers, I switched over to focusing on the final sprint. It feels good to go top ten two stages in a row.”

At 99.6-kilometers, Friday’s race was short but full of action. Only four seconds separated the top podium spots and the top 10 riders overall were constantly attacking. Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec, who began the day in the overall race lead, kept the race well controlled and the day ended in a bunch sprint. Marco Benfatto (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermac) sprinted to the win with teammate Raffaello Bonusi taking the overall.

Team Novo Nordisk, the world’s first all-diabetes pro cycling team, resumes racing on Sunday at the Tour of China II. The six-day race kicks off with a 3.3-km prologue at the Hubei Olympic Center.

Gallery:

Results: 

• 1^st: Marco Benfatto (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermac): 2:16:37
• 2^nd: Nicolas Marini (Nippo-Vini Fantini): same time as Benfatto
• 3^rd: Stanislau Bazhkou (Minsk Cycling Club): same time as Benfatto

Team Novo Nordisk Results Stage 6:

• Andrea Peron: 9, same time as Benfatto
• Gerd de Keijzer: 90^th: same time as Benfatto
• Quentin Valognes: 102^nd: same time as Benfatto