As expected, stage 6 came down to the final ascent inside 20km to go, with climbing specialists Mauricio Ortega (RTS-Monton), Przemyslaw Niemiec (Lampre-Merida) and Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) all battling it out up and over the KOM summit toward the finish in Wuzhishan.
Ortega, who initiated the assault at the base of the climb, was unable to stay with Lutsenko and Niemiec, who carved down the descent with surgical precision. The 36-year-old Colombian, who won the Tour of Qinghai Lake (2.HC) mountains classification in July, was unceremoniously dropped before being bypassed by a surging Mohoric.
“We were in a small group, maybe 30 seconds back, and I attacked to the top,” explained Mohoric. “I really went for it.
“It was a fast descent and when I caught the third guy that was dropped, I went straight by because I didn’t want to bring him back to the front.”
The 22-year-old former Cannondale rider credits his teammates, most specifically Niemiec for the victory.
“I tried to attack Lutsenko when I caught the break, but it didn’t work out,” he admitted. “Lutsenko counterattacked and Niemiec brought me back to Lutsenko’s wheel and we won the sprint first and second.
“It’s my first win as a professional, so I am pretty happy,” Mohoric continued. “I can’t be grateful enough for the team who did a great job today. We are having a great tour and are hoping to keep it that way until the end.”
Tour of Hainan 2016 – stage 6 results:
| 1 | Matej Mohoric (Lampre-Merida) | 5:21:35 |
| 2 | Przemyslaw Niemiec (Lampre-Merida) | ,, |
| 3 | Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) | ,, |
| 4 | Mauricio Ortega (RTS-Monton) | +34” |
| 5 | Patrick Schelling (Vorarlberg) | ,, |
| 6 | Leonardo Duque (Delko Marseille) | +50” |
| 7 | Mario Costa (Lampre-Merida) | ,, |
| 8 | Giuseppe Fonzi (Wilier – Southeast) | ,, |
| 9 | Ilya Davidenok (RTS – Monton) | ,, |
| 10 | Jefferson Rueda (Jilun Shakeland) | ,, |
