Team dsm-firmenich sprint to 4th in Tour of Guangxi with Tobias Lund Andresen

The third stage of Tour of Guangxi saw a predominantly flat stage end in a fast finale. After being brought to the front by the team, Tobias Lund Andresen powered to a solid 4th place for Team dsm-firmenich.

Rolling out from Nanning on Saturday, a relatively straightforward day awaited the bunch. Despite this, the peloton awaited some challenging punchy climbs throughout the day. After the flag drop, there were multiple attacks at the start before a six-rider break was able to establish itself after seven kilometres. They built up a lead of around two minutes 30 seconds but things were always kept close, with Team dsm-firmenich contributing to the chase in the closing 40 kilometres with Patrick Bevin and Niklas Märkl.

Going into the final lap of the day, the peloton took on the final punchy climb one final time, as Oscar Onley attacked twice and opened up a small gap for himself, before being brought back by others, fighting hard to come back in the wheel of the young Scot. The explosive climb saw the peloton split up but with still nineteen kilometres to go, other groups made their way back to the back of the reduced bunch. As the finish line came in view, Onley and Jonas Iversby Hvideberg brought sprint leader Tobias Lund Andresen to the front. The young Dane then positioned himself well, jumping from the wheels, opening up his sprint and crossing the line in a solid 4th place.

Sunday’s stage is expected to be one for the general classification, with the parcours finishing atop the Nongla.

After the stage, Lund Andresen commented: “Because of the tough climbs, everyone was excited for today’s stage. Every time we took on the punchy climb, we were in the front and tried to put on pressure for Oscar. The penultimate climb was already hard, but the peloton still didn’t split. Ultimately on the last climb, Patrick and Jonas did a great job of positioning Oscar well in the front and he could attack. I fought as hard as I could to come over the top but was dropped in a group with Kooij. Luckily, I had Jonas with me and with five kilometres to go we were back in the reduced peloton. Oscar and Jonas then helped me to get to the front after which I had to go on my own. There was a crash in the deep finale, as a result of which I lost a bit of momentum, but in the end, I am satisfied with the fourth place after being dropped on the climb. There are still several chances for the team with Oscar tomorrow on the mountaintop finish and we finish our campaign in China with two sprint stages.”