ZHONGWEI, Ningxia, Aug. 2-- Englishman Jacob Tipper avoided bunch sprint chaos to claim 'biggest win of career' on fast Zhongwei circuit at 17th Tour of Qinghai Lake on Thursday. Tipper of Memil-CCN took the win over Spaniard Daniel Lopez of Burgos-BH and Dutchman Andre Looij of Monkey Town at the conclusion of the 110-kilometer Zhongwei city circuit. While Tipper was crossing the finish line victoriously, a bunch sprint pileup put Dutchman Wim Kleiman (Monkey Town), Australian Leigh Howard (Australian Cycling Academy) and Italian Luca Pacioni (Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia) all on the deck. "I had already gone," claimed Tipper. "I had kicked into the lead and was on the right-hand side with 200 meters to go, and whether they would have come around me or not, I don't know. But I can only beat who stays upright, can't I?" Looij also talked to media after the race about the crash that claimed one of his teammates. "I saw a lot of people go to the left and my choice was sprinting to the right side," Looij explained. "It was good, but not good enough for the win." One rider not so lucky was Dutchman Tim Ariesen (Ningxia Sports Lottery-Livall), who suffered a serious blow to the head. The 24-year-old, who claimed back-to-back podiums mid-race, was immediately rushed to a local hospital where further examination is ongoing. Word from race officials indicated Ariesen suffered a separated shoulder, but no critical injuries or head trauma. |