The second to last stage of the Tour of Hainan was the longest one so far. The Seventh Stage, which was 210km of creeping uphill battles, included two CAT 2 climbs and one CAT 1 climb. But as usual, the Jelly Belly boys were able to handle the terrain.
As most riders can understand, the seventh day of racing and the second to last day of the season made it hard to muster the strength to keep going. Yet Kiel Reijnen and Bernard Van Ulden remained close and both finished only ten second behind the lead group. Nick Reistad wasn’t far behind in the third group.
Brad Huff had given it his all earlier in the race, and after winning two stages and placing in the top three in others, health problems got the better of him and the crosswinds didn’t help either.
But the final stage, Stage Eight was not like the seventh. It was the shortest stage of the tour, at only 102km. There were still two CAT 3 climbs, but Team Director Danny Van Haute said the team, as usual, worked together and took care of Huff. Huff could not have ended up in 2nd place after the final sprint if it weren’t for his team members.
The 2008 Tour of Hainan was incredibly successful for the JB boys, as they were on the podium five times with two 3rd place wins, one 2nd place win and two 1st place wins.
Molly Saunders
PR Jelly Belly Cycling Team
