Tour of Hainan: Aberasturi pips Mareczko in short sprint opener

The 2017 Tour of Hainan opened with a short, fast 88.3-kilometre sprint stage in Wanning, China on Saturday, and it was Jon Aberasturi (Team UKYO) with a cleverly timed and positioned sprint victory.

The 28-year-old Spaniard picked up his ninth professional win after making a calculated move on the right-hand side of the road inside the final 100 metres.

“In 1km to the final I didn’t have good position, but in the last 800m it was better,” Aberasturi told Eurosport. “In the last 400m I was very near Mareczko and 200m to final I took the right side of the road because Mareczko was on the left.

“With 100m to go, I jumped first and was able to keep the position to the finish line.”

“I was back with [Eugert] Zhupa at 400m and I can’t start sprint yet, so I stayed back,” Mareczko explained. “I went out at k and by then it was too late as Aberasturi had already started his sprint on the right.

“Second place is good for the first stage,” he told Eurosport. “The travel was very long yesterday, so I am happy today and look forward to tomorrow.”

Third-place finisher Michael Freiberg (IsoWhey Sports-SwissWellness) continues to surprise in his comeback to pro cycling. The former track world champion arrived in Hainan as Australia’s Subaru National Road Series (NRS) leader and assumes the role of sprinter in lieu of the absence of Scott Sunderland, who remains inactive following his crash at Tour of China II last month.

Freiberg was hot on the wheels of Aberasturi and Mareczko to round out the podium, despite being without two of his team riders, Sam Crome and Neil van der Ploeg, who both crashed, and a puncture that caused the 27-year-old Western Australian to rally back to the field.

“It was a bit of a dangerous stage out there, with a lot of people fighting for position,” said Freiberg. “It was unlucky that we lost Neil and Sam about halfway through, they hit the deck pretty hard.

“There was a block of concrete jutting out of the road. I hit it and they cleaned it up behind me. I punctured about 10k later and had to get back through the cars in the crosswinds. I was a bit nervous there about the finish.

"We had Joe [Cooper] and the team take it up with about 5k to go, they road great, especially after being in the break all day. Then it was just me and [Anthony Giacoppo] for the last 2k and he dropped me off at 400m to go and I had to step out and open up then.

“I was really happy to hold on, because it’s unlikely to hold on from 350 to go, so I’m really stoked about that.”

As Freiberg mentioned, IsoWhey was bolstered by reigning New Zealand champion Joe Cooper’s breakaway performance that earned him the day’s most aggressive rider award.

“I drew the lucky straw to be out front and avoid the crash in the back,” Cooper told Eurosport. “Being HC there’s a lot more bike riders and being only 88k the tension is high. I didn’t know that Sam and Neil crashed. The radios didn’t work that far, so I’m hoping they bounce back because they are a crucial part to our sprint train and there are eight more stages to nail a sprint.”

With the win, Aberasturi takes the overall lead in yellow over Mareczko (+0:04) and Freiberg (+0:06).

Sunday’s Stage 2 features a daunting 230.2km parcours from Wanning to Haikou, with three intermediate sprint bonus en route to an expected second bunch sprint finish for the race leader and his rivals.