Norman Vahtra came close to victory on the opening stage of the Tour of Hainan in China, but had to concede to Matteo Malucelli (XDS Astana Team) in a bunch sprint. The 90 km flat opening stage took place in the city of Qionghai and ended as expected with a bunch sprint on a long and wide finishing straight.
Vahtra, riding for the romantically named China Glory - Mentech Continental Cycling Team, managed to pull out of Malucelli's slipstream just before the finish line, but it was too late. The Estonian pro team Quick Pro Team was also at the start, with Martin Laas being their best finisher in fourth place. Mihkel Räim finished 56th, Oskar Küüt 87th, Karl Patrick Lauk 110th, Oskar Nisu 132nd, and Gleb Karpenko 133rd.
The Tour of Hainan consists of five stages – including some for the climbers – and ends on Friday in Sanya. Hainan is an island in the South China Sea, slightly smaller than Estonia in area, with a population of approximately 10 million people.
🇨🇳VIDEO: @tourofhainan @malumatteo1 wins the bunch sprint in Qionghai 💪👏#TOH2025 #TourOfHainan #XDSAstanaTeam pic.twitter.com/ZH3qwO67l3
— XDS Astana Team (@XDSAstanaTeam) April 7, 2025
🇨🇳 PHOTOS: @tourofhainan @malumatteo1 and his win 🥇 in Stage 1 ⬇️#TOH2025 #TourOfHainan #XDSAstanaTeam pic.twitter.com/OArJkPvEET
— XDS Astana Team (@XDSAstanaTeam) April 7, 2025
🏝️ A glimpse of today's action in #TOH2025
— Tour of Hainan (@tourofhainan) April 7, 2025
A lap of 90KM along the beautiful coastline of Hainan! pic.twitter.com/Bim0hEyMuT
