Rock Racing’s Hamilton Has Victory In Sight

Huzhu, China — Rock Racing’s Tyler Hamilton is a short circuit race away from earning his first victory in a stage race in four years.

Hamilton survived a rather uneventful day in the yellow leader’s jersey Saturday in the penultimate stage of the Tour of Qinghai Lake, finishing in the lead pack of 19 riders at the end of Saturday’s 104-mile (168 km) race.


The final stage Sunday is a 61-mile (99 km) circuit race in the city of Xining. Time bonuses up for grabs on three of the 18 laps and at the finish are a concern, Hamilton said.

“It’s not over ‘till it’s over,” Hamilton said. “I have a 10-second lead (over Poland’s Marek Rutkiewicz), so really, anything can happen. We’ll just stay on our toes and control the situation, like today.”

Saturday’s race was the final mountain stage of the 10-day, 841-mile (1,354 km) event. But two of Hamilton’s chief competitors – Iranian climbers Ahad Kazemi and teammate Ghader Mizbani (Tabriz Petrochemical Team) – were stricken with mild cases of bronchitis overnight. Feeling less than 100 percent, they sought only to keep Kazemi’s lead in the king of the mountains classification.

Saturday’s race was won by Jure Kocjan (Perutnina Ptuj) who easily outsprinted Jackson Rodriguez (Serramenti Diquigiovanni-Androni) and fellow teammate Gregor Gazvoda. A third rider from the Perutnina Ptuj team, Kristjan Fajt, and Ukrainian Volodymyr Zagorodnyy, were on their way to contesting the finish themselves when the lead motorcycle led them off course with 2.5 miles (4 km) to go.


Hamilton won Friday’s Stage 8 in a two-up sprint to move into the overall lead. The Boulder, Colo., resident last won a stage race overall at the Tour de Romandie in 2004.

Photos: Copyright Tour of Qinghai Lake/Mark Gunter (www.pbase.com/gunterphotograph)