The Tour of Ordos kicked off today with a circuit race in fierce winds and low temperatures.  This is the first time that a cycling tour is being held in this rich town, it is apparently richer than Beijing on a per capita basis. About 85 riders started today and only 62 managed to finish. I don’t know why the attrition rate was so high as it was not a particularly hard race, unless you were out off the front battling the winds! Quite early on, a six-man breakaway rolled away containing perennial winner Dave McCann from Giant Kenda – with several laps remaining, McCann just stepped up another gear and rode away solo to win by a handy 45 seconds and nab the winners cheque of $3,000USd as well as the team stage GC prize of $3,000USd. A good day at office for the Giant Kenda Team.

This Tour of Ordos boasts a $100,000 USD prize payout – quite high just for a two day race – but it has attracted some top riders from the Asia region, downunder, and Europe.  For many of the UCI registered teams here, this Tour is a precursor to the 7-day Taihu Lake Tour (ranked UCI 2.2) and the upcoming Hainan Tour.

Dave McCann is looking good with his early form despite his long four hour road ride yesterday in the snow and wind.

Here is a collection of photos from today.