Sperotto beats Cure and Garner in Guangxi sprint finish

Second-year professional, Maria Vittoria Sperotto (BePink-Cogeas) claimed her first individual professional victory at the inaugural Tour of Guangxi Women's Elite World Challenge. Sperotto used her track speed to beat Amy Cure and Lucy Garner - both of Wiggle-High 5 - in a close sprint finish.

Sperotto had already shown potential in the fast finishes this season with victory in the youth classification of the sprinters' race the Tour of Chongming Island. She also won the team time trial at the Semana Ciclista Valenciana in March. She hopes this win will be the start of something more.

"It's really big and I'm really happy about it. It is my first victory as a professional, and it can be a motivation to take more victories," Vittoria Sperotto told Cyclingnews after the race. "Some riders tried to break away but we were able to bring them back and it was pretty close in the sprint but I was able to save my energy and I did it."

The one-day Tour of Guangxi Women's Elite World Challenge coincided with the final stage of the men's six-day race. The 110-kilometre route started and finished in the same location as the men and took the peloton along a route that seemed destined to finish with a bunch gallop. Leung Wing Yee of the Hong Kong team tried a lone escape, but she was not able to hold off the bunch behind.

Heading into the sprint, Wiggle-High5 had the firepower but not the numbers, with just three riders forming their line-up. BePink had five and, with the help of the likes of Silvia Valsecchi, Sperotto had the edge on the more experienced Cure. The Italian beat the Australian by the smallest of margins to close her season out with a win.

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