Hainan finally debuts in the ProSeries
The Tour of Hainan was originally part of the races that composed the first edition of the UCI ProSeries in 2020. However, the global Covid-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of the race on three occasions, so we had to wait for 4 years for this Chinese race to finally debut in the second tier of world cycling.
Route
The race consists of 5 stages. The first is a short and flat stage that will likely end in a bunch sprint. The second, with the uphill finish at Baoting (2.7 km at 4.9%), will begin to define the general classification, for which undoubtedly the most important stage is the third one. This stage includes 4 categorized climbs, the last of which, Atuo Mountain (6.6 km at 6.1%), has its summit located 13 kilometers from the finish. The fourth stage is once again a clear opportunity for sprinters, while the last one is also considered flat but includes some climbs and more than 2000 meters of climbing, so it may bring surprises.
Favorites
The list of participants is still very uncertain two days before the race, so making predictions is impossible. We will have to pay close attention to creating teams as soon as the final start list is published.
Photo: © Tour of Hainan