Estonian Cyclists Win Opening Stages of Tours in Czechia and China

Estonian riders Rait Ärm and Karl Patrick Lauk opened their respective tours with victories, winning sprint finishes in Czechia and China.

Ärm, riding for Energus Cycling Team, won the 197-kilometre first stage of the Tour of South Bohemia from Třeboň to Studená. He finished ahead of Switzerland’s Nicola Schleuniger of Run & Race-Solarpur and Czech rider Maximilian Kerl of Fany Gastro_integray_L27 in a large group sprint.

Ärm said a two-rider breakaway formed early, while the peloton worked to control it. His team placed a rider at the front, and the escapees were caught about 30 kilometres before the finish. Further attacks followed, but the stage ended in a bunch sprint. Latvian rider Martinš Pluto positioned Ärm well in the final corner, leaving him to complete the win.

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At the beginning, a two-rider breakaway went clear, and then it was controlled. We also put one teammate to work at the front, and the breakaway was caught about 30 kilometres before the finish. Then the attacks started.

The Tour of South Bohemia has four stages, with the second covering 146 kilometres. In China, Lauk of Wheeltop Rotor Chengdu Team won the 95-kilometre opening stage of the Shanghai Tour. He finished ahead of Colombian sprinter Victor Ocampo of Team Medellín-EPM and Australian Kurt Eather of Ccache x Bodywrap.

Mihkel Räim of Quick Pro Team finished ninth. Markus Pajur placed 49th, Oskar Nisu 55th, Oskar Küüt 57th, Lauri Tamm 59th, Aaron Aus 82nd, Martti Lenzius 89th and Richard Ründva 91st. The Shanghai Tour consists of three stages, with the second also scheduled to cover 95 kilometres.

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Fortunately, it still came down to a large group sprint. The Latvian Martinš Pluto put me in a good position for the last corner, and from there it was just a matter of finishing it off.