The majority of the Subway - Avanti Pro Cycling team finished in lead bunch after another testing day on stage four of the Tour de Qinghai Lake in China.

Ian Smallman was the best placed of the riders after another challenging day in the high mountains of Asia, which included a climb to 3445 metres, the highest point of the tour so far.

The former New Zealand representative rower, and new team signing, finished 84th in the main lead bunch of 100 riders in a time of two hours and fifty minutes,

Radoslav Rogina (Loborika) remains in the yellow jersey after finishing 18th in the bunch sprint. He leads Gregor Gazvoda (KTM-Gebruder Weiss) by 34 seconds with a further ten seconds back to Kiel Reijnen (Jelly Belly).

“I was a good result from Ian who had come to the tour from the middle of a New Zealand winter with no recent racing in his legs,” Team Manager in China Graeme Miller said.

“It just shows the potential he has, and his years doing the hard yards as a New Zealand ranked rower definitely means he knows how to suffer.”

Team mates Joe Cooper and Eric Drower also finished in the main bunch with Smallman, with Sam Horgan four minutes further back and then James Williamson two minutes behind Horgan.

“After getting used to the altitude the boys are improving with each stage,” Miller said.

After several days of climbing the race heads to Bird Island for stage five of the tour with a race profile that should suit the sprinters.
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The Subway – Avanti Pro Cycling Team is New Zealand’s only UCI Continental team receiving UCI status in early 2009.
Check out Subways online TV at http://www.youtube.com/user/SubwayAvanti  

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For more information please contact:

Hayden Godfrey
021 464482
www.subwaycycling.co.nz

John McKenzie
enthuse ltd
021 384 730
03 384 7338