2024 Tour of Chongming Island S2 | An Exceptional One-two-three for Successful Ceratizit

Ceratizit - WNT Pro Cycling Team is performing exceptionally well in the Tour of Chongming Island. After yesterday’s victory by Mylène De Zoete, the German team dominated the mass sprint this time, filling the entire stage podium at the finish line. 

Marta Lach won the stage, with yellow jersey wearer De Zoete in second. Behind the two celebrating Ceratizit teammates, Kathrin Schweinberger completed the team’s party by taking third place. 

The results of the second stage had few consequences for the general classification, as Ceratizit claimed all the bonus seconds at the finish. De Zoete continues to lead the race, while Lach and Schweinberger have moved up in the GC to promising positions. The team will have multiple cards to play in tomorrow’s final stage. 

After the ceremony, Lach said that a one-two-three finish was domestics not part of the plan beforehand. De Zoete joked with Lach during the stage that they could both end up on the podium today, but having Schweinberger there as well was a welcome surprise. 

“What an exceptional day,” Lach smiled after the finish. “Kathrin did such an amazing job and put Mylène and me in such a good position that she could take third place herself.” 

The first and only QOM of the day was on the big bridge between Changxing Island Country Park and Chongming Island, nine kilometers into the race, followed by two intermediate sprints in the longest stage of this year’s Tour of Chongming Island. 

On this open stretch, with stunning views over the two nature-dominated islands – but where the wind also had free rein – the battle for points and a potential jersey on the final podium became fierce. 

With a well-timed acceleration, Anne Knijnenburg ultimately took the points at the top of the climb. She will need to win one more QOM sprint tomorrow to claim the jersey on the final podium. 

As the race settled, the focus shifted to the two intermediate sprints, which, just like yesterday, were heavily contested due to the bonus seconds available for the top three riders. Finishing inside or outside the top three could make a significant difference for riders at the end of the Tour of Chongming Island. 

In the final kilometers, none of the major teams allowed the (semi-)favorites to gain too much of a gap. The Chinese teams and riders were particularly active at the front of the peloton, but the breakaways never extended their lead beyond 40 seconds. Fortunately for De Zoete and her Ceratizit teammates, they could rely on other teams’ domestiques to help control the race. 

The lead-out trains then worked to keep things more organized and structured than in yesterday’s mass sprint in rainy conditions. Ceratizit executed the final push to perfection, raising their hands in celebration as the crowd cheered and slammed on the billboards along the finishing stretch. 

De Zoete is now comfortably leading the general classification. She said after the finish that there would be some time and space for a little celebration today, but the focus now shifts to getting multiple riders on the final podium. 

“We’re in an excellent position now,” De Zoete said, with a three-second advantage over her teammate Lach in her back pocket. “We should enjoy today as much as possible and play our cards smartly tomorrow.” 

Tomorrow, the German team faces the challenge of defending the leader’s jersey one last time. It’s not an easy task by any means, given the number of teams with different ambitions and the small number of riders (six) per team. 

On a course that includes seven laps on a local circuit, following an opening loop of thirty kilometers out of town, it would take something of a miracle for Ceratizit - WNT Pro Cycling to lose the overall lead. However, anything is possible.