HAIKOU, China, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Italian cyclist Fausto Masnada from the team of Androni Giocattoli finished first in the ninth stage at the top of Baomeiling mountain in Changjiang Li autonomous county and took over the yellow jersey as the overall leader in the Tour of Hainan on Tuesday.
"I think everyone was agitated by the mountain routes in the last seven and half kilomiters, so the competition was fierce," Masnada recalled after beating Gino Mader of Swiss Cycling Team in front of the finishing line.
"Especially in the last one kilometer, there was only Gino and I, the atmosphere was very tense, so I just minded my own pace, didn't think about anything until the last five hundred meters," said the Italian. "When I looked back at that time, I found that Gino was a little bit tired, so I felt that it's my time, the I sped up and left him behind."
"This is my first time to win a stage in my whole career, and also the first time to put on the yellow jersey," this 24-year-old added excitedly. "It really means a lot to me".
And in Masnada's eyes, to win the last stage of this nine-day tour, he need to pay special attention to the sprint spots along the way. And he will spare no efforts to get them.
The 2018 Tour of Hainan will conclude in Danzhou city in southwest China's Hainan on Wednesday, covering a total distance of 1,481 kilometers, featuring 20 teams to vie for a total award of around 350,000 U.S. dollars.
