GANGCHA, China, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Mexico's 21-year-old rider Carlos Alfonso Garcia won the 168.7-kilometer fifth stage at the Tour of Magnificent Qinghai here on Thursday.
Carlos of Mexico's Petrolike Team conquered the stage from Qilian to Gangcha, which includes an opening 29km steep ascent from 2,700m to 3,818m, in 4 hours 13 minutes and 6 seconds.
Carlos attributed his success to the teamwork, saying that the win gave a boost to him and his team.
Eritrean rider Henok Mulueberhan of the XDS Astana Team, who placed third in the grueling second stage, finished second in the fifth stage.
Mulueberhan, 25, was the general classification winner (Yellow Jersey) of the 2023 edition of the event, and Astana, the only UCI WorldTeam competing in the race, is widely seen as a contender for the team title.
Uruguay's national champion Guillermo Thomas Silva, 23, finished third in the fifth stage, kept the Yellow Jersey he grabbed in the second stage, and took the Green Jersey as today's top sprinter.
Swiss rider Simon Pellaud of the Li-Ning Star Team has claimed the Polka Dot Jersey as the best climber in four straight stages since the second.
Pellaud said, "It's a really tough stage, and I feel not fully recovered from the two previous stages. I just tried my best and enjoyed the race."
"I'll try to keep the jersey in the tour, but there are many good climbers, and the competition is tense, he added.
Talking about the Li-Ning Star Team, Pellaud said, "We lost a GC (general classification) rider in the second stage. So we focus on taking jerseys and stage wins."
Friday's sixth stage covers 232.7 kilometers from Gangcha to Gonghe, including a 180km flat route and a 10km steep ascent from 3,300m to 3,740m.
Pellaud said that it is not easy for a top GC rider to keep his status on a flat road. "We will see what happens."
Iran's Saeid Safarzadeh of the local Tianyoude Hotel Cycling Team, who had been awarded the Blue Jersey as the best Asian rider in the second, third and fourth stages, maintained the honor in the fifth stage.
Tianyoude has kept the Blue Jersey after the first five stages, as its another rider Hasan Seyfollahifard, also from Iran, won the glory in the first stage.
Formerly known as the Tour of Qinghai Lake, the event was rebranded this year as the Tour of Magnificent Qinghai. Since its inception in 2002, it has become one of Asia's premier high-altitude road races, known for its diverse terrain and average elevation of 3,000 meters.
The 2025 edition includes eight stages totaling 1,400 kilometers and features more than 150 professional riders from 11 countries and regions. The race runs through July 13. ■
