HANGZHOU – Young Kazakh rider Yevgeniy Fedorov was gifted gold by decorated compatriot Alexey Lutsenko as they crossed the line nearly six minutes ahead of the rest in the Asian Games men’s road race on Thursday.
The pair, who ride professionally for Astana Qazaqstan alongside British great Mark Cavendish, timed their race to perfection on the challenging 207.7km course through the Chinese mountains.
After sitting in the chasing peloton, defending champion Lutsenko, 31, took control with 80km left and the duo stayed together as they pulled clear.
They were seen chatting to each other as they cruised to the finish, with Lutsenko waving his 23-year-old teammate over the line first in 4hr 25min 29sec.
“You could see that we worked together quite well in the first half of the race, taking turns in the lead,” said Fedorov.
“But in the end we decided that I could win a gold medal because Alexey had already won a gold medal in this race at the 2018 Asian Games.”
Mongolia’s Jambaltsamts Sainbayar came third, 5:42 behind.
Lutsenko, the only rider in Hangzhou to have won Grand Tour stages, had also already taken gold in the individual time trial for a third straight time, by a huge two minutes.
“There was no competition between the two of us.
“The goal was to secure the gold medal for our country,” he said of allowing Fedorov to take the glory, adding that the race was not easy.
“In the beginning we put on the full gas. In the last 75km, we wanted to break away.
“It is a good day for me, for Yevgeniy and for my country.”
Hong Kong’s Yang Qianyu stormed to a surprise gold in the women’s road race on Wednesday, while Uzbekistan’s Olga Zabelinskaya won the time trial.
Elsewhere, China’s He Jie clinched the men’s marathon title, while Bahraini Eunice Chumba won the women’s gold.
He, who came 45th at August’s world championships in Budapest, was neck and neck with North Korea’s Han Il Ryong at the 40km mark of the Qiantang River Green Belt course.
But he gradually edged clear and powered to the finish line in 2:13:02, 25 seconds ahead.
China’s Yang Shaohui did just enough to earn bronze ahead of Japan’s Toshiki Sadakata.
Chumba was in a class of her own, claiming victory by nearly two minutes in 2:26:14. China’s Zhang Deshun came second ahead of Kyrgyzstan’s Sardana Trofimova.
The marathon events rounded off the athletics programme in Hangzhou.
China led the standings with 39 medals (19 golds, 11 silvers, nine bronzes), ahead of Bahrain (10 golds, one silver, five bronzes) and India (six golds, 14 silvers, nine bronzes). AFP
