McLay wins stage 2 sprint at Tour of Guangxi
Ackermann takes overall race lead after placing second.
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Dan McLay (EF Education First) won a chaotic sprint to take victory in stage 2 of the Tour of Guangxi on Friday. The win was the first WorldTour victory of the Brit’s career.
McLay beat Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott) into second and third place respectively. The same pair also came second and third on stage 1, Thursday.
The sprint to the line at the end of the 152km stage saw riders fanned all across the wide road in Qinzhou.
Ineos and CCC Team had led the peloton into the closing stretch, working for Chris Lawless and Jonas Koch respectively, but both teams were swamped as the race fanned across the road. Ackermann was the first to get a nose in front, but McLay came up late and edged out the German on the line. Stage 1 winner Fernando Gaviria (UAE-Team Emirates) finished eighth.
After two second-place finishes, Ackermann takes the overall race lead.
“I was slightly blocked and so wasn’t able to launch my sprint in the way that I had intended,” said Ackermann. “However, with my second place, I take over the lead in the overall standings, as well as the points and youth classifications, so it’s not too bad of a day for us.”
Racing resumes Saturday for a circuit race in Nanning.
