Synergy Baku cyclist third in China

By Amina Nazarli - AzerNews 

The Synergy Baku Cycling Project cyclists continue their participation in the Tour de Qinghai Lake, which runs from July 7 to 18 in China.

Azerbaijani cyclist Matej Mugerli finished third on the Queen Stage of the Tour, taking second in the sprint of a small group about a minute behind the solo winner. The Synergy Baku Cycling Project rider cemented his position as ninth in the GC.

The seventh stage, 190 km from Guide to Xunhua, opened with a Cat.1 climb coming only 47km after the start. Another climb followed later, and the stage ended with a 50km long descent to the finish line.

National cyclist Elchin Asadov started out the good work for the team this day by being in the first break group. The first climb, however, proved to be very difficult and exploded the field, as well as the lead group. From there, the course continued constantly up and down, with multiple long and steep, but unranked climbs.

Another small group formed on the long closing descent, and Mugerli was active in the chase. In the end, one rider stayed away to take the win.

“It was a very tough day and I am happy to finish third.” Mugerli said. “However, it is my third top ten finish here, and I am still looking to stand on the top step of the podium.”

“Today was the most difficult stage, and I am pleased to say that we raced very well,” said sport director Tomaz Poljanec. “First we had Elchin in the breakaway and then Matej finished third in a good sprint.”