July 5, 2011
Xihaizhen, China – Robert Förster found himself in a familiar position following the 2011 Tour of Qinghai Lake’s Fourth Stage – on the top step of the podium. The German sprinting sensation has recorded 12 top three finishes this year, captured his sixth win this season, ahead of a pair of Colnago-CSF riders which included second place finisher Andrea Pasqualon (ITA) and Sacha Modolo (ITA) who took third. Förster won Stage Four today in a time of 3:34:05.
Following his victory in the 152.4km race from Bird Island to Xihaizhen, Förster said, “Today was tough, but I’m glad I was able to deliver the win for my Team. Our strategy was good, our guys covered a lot of the breaks that formed today, and I did not want to let them down.”
Ever the consummate Teammate, Förster continued, “We’re looking forward to tomorrow as well as the next few stages. If we stay on strategy, hopefully good things will continue to happen.”
Team Director, Eric Greene, who is leading the Squad’s efforts in China, said, “We made a decision today that we weren’t going to take chances out there and did our best to make sure the guys covered the numerous breaks that formed. This was a really aggressive race today. The combination of serious wind and numerous attacks split the field a few times, but the boys did what they had to do deliver Robert to the finish. In the last 2km it was up to Robert and once again, he made the right choices and was able capture the stage for the Team.”
The Tour of Qinghai Lake continues tomorrow with its fifth stage, a 123km trek featuring a significant amount of climbing that will take the peloton from Xihaizhen to Mole Town, Qilian.
Photo: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us
