Tour of Hainan: Hat-trick for Mareczko

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Jakub Mareczko (Wilier Triestina) made it three in a row in Danzhou to beat Peter Sagan's total of 36 victories in his first three pro seasons. Mareczko extended his overall lead while Martin Laas (Delko Marseille) and Anthony Giacoppo (IsoWhey Sports-Swisswellness) rounded out the podium.

"It was a long stage and a difficult one to control because in the first 60 kilometres everyone was looking for breaking away," Mareczko reacted. "It was lumpy all day. But we kept it under control and, at the end, [Eugert] Zhupa took me to the front with perfection. When I came out of his wheel, it was all very simple. I have to thank Eugert and all my teammates from Wilier Triestina. They've done an exceptional job. It won't be a bunch sprint finish every day but as long as we have a chance, we will go for it."

Oleksandr Polivoda (Kolss), Hou Weijie (Keyi Look), Serghei Tvetcov (Jelly Belly) were the first attackers but their ambitions were short lived due to the king of the mountains points on offer only 22km after the start line. Vitaly Buts (Kolss) made the best of it as he fended off his rivals Benjamin Hill (Attaque Team Gusto) and Benjamin Prades (Ukyo).

The intermediate sprint at kilometre 38 was also highly contested with Laas taking the first place and a lot of hopes for the green jersey while Dylan Page (Swiss National Team) and Marco Zanotti (Monkey Town) were second and third, the Italian giving a strong indication that he's chasing time bonus because of his ambitions on GC. Mirco Maestri (Bardiani CSF), Rick Van Breda (Monkey Town), Zhang Zheng (Hengxiang) and Jacopo Mosca (Wilier Triestina) rode away after the sprint but got caught at kilometre 50.

Travis Samuel (H&R Block), Oleksandr Prevar (Kolss), Sven Van Luijk (Monkey Town) and Alfredo Castillo (Jelly Belly) got more luck. They got a maximum gap of 3:30 after 75km. Almost 90km were covered in the first two hours. The advantage of the quartet was reduced to 1.15 with 25km to go and 30 seconds at the 10km to go mark. They were reined in three kilometres before the end.

"The last guy supposed to lead me out [Emil Liepins] was dropped after being stuck behind some other riders," Laas described. "We were together with Asbjorn [Kragh Andersen] but one kilometre was too long for him to drag me, so I was alone for the last 400 metres. I had to take a bit of wind and then Mareczko started sprinting. I had already made a little effort but he could go with fresh legs. He went straight away to the front and it stayed like this till the line. It's ok. I'm happy with my sprint and my result."

Mareczko wasn't too carried away with having reached the number of 37 pro wins in his first three seasons as a pro. "I'm pleased with the number but it can't be compared to Peter Sagan's 36 because his wins have another value," the Italian said. "We've won at totally different races. It can't be compared. I got most of my wins on Asian soil, where I found stage races with a lot of stages and a lot of flat stages, unlike in Europe where there are many more climbs."

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