Sebastien sprints to victory on Tour of Taihu Lake stage 7

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A huge surprise occurred at the end of stage 7 in the Tour of Taihu Lake as Sébastien Jullien, a 25-year-old Frenchman riding as a stagiaire in China's continental team Jilun, won the bunch sprint on an enormous avenue in Shengze. He outclassed his compatriot Benjamin Giraud from La Pomme Marseille who took the green jersey over from Alois Kankovsky.

It was still a good day for Dukla Praha as Milan Kadlec is no longer threatened by Alexandr Serebryakov for the overall victory. The Russian from Team Type 1 was left alone in the sprint after his lead out man Aldo Ilesic sustained a flat tyre.

"It was a very strange sprint," noted Kadlec. "It was not organized at all because the sprint started when the breakaway group got caught with 500 metres to go."

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This time, the escapees had a real chance to ride for the stage victory. Vadim Shaekov (China 361), Fabio Calabria (Team Type 1), Stuart Shaw (Drapac), Mathieu Delarozière (La Pomme-Marseille), Ricardo Mestre (Carmim-Prio), Ramin Maleki (Tabriz), Shahrul Mat Amin (Terengganu) and Liu Yilin (Hengxiang) managed to go clear at half way into the stage after many attempts. "We didn't let them have more than 1.10 advantage," Kadlec said.

"It was a dangerous sprint," Giraud described. "Many riders here come from the track and don't have the right attitude. I was well positioned behind my lead out man Yannick Martinez but I lost his wheel with 500 metres to when there were waves in the peloton at the time of the regrouping with the escapees. I had no choice but sprint from far out. However, Jullien was already ahead."

"With 25km to go, I had a flat tyre and an electrical problem," the stage winner declared. "This is not my first win in an international race as I got two at the Tour of Serbia last year but it's my first win in a UCI 2.1 race. I was really disappointed to not do better than 12th or 18th up to now in the Tour of Taihu.

"I wish I could join a professional team but I'm 25 and team managers usually look for younger riders. I was hoping to sign for the new British continental CMI but the sponsor pulled out one month ago."

Jullien is a bike mechanic in Bourg-en-Bresse and a coach for BMX. "I've raced in BMX for eight years, that's where my speed comes from," he said. "But in the Rhône-Alpes region, a sprinter doesn't get many opportunities to win races, courses are too hilly!"

This year, Jullien finished fourth overall at the Tour of Morocco won by South African ace Reinhardt Janse van Rensburg. He ended up as a stagiaire with Jilun after the visit in Bourg-en-Bresse of 20 year old Liu Heng who is the only Chinese rider in the team. "Their idea is to develop a Chinese continental team partly based in France," Jullien explained. "They have a great potential but a lot to learn."

The other revelation of the day is third placed Ahmet Orken from Turkish team Konya Torku Seker Spor. At the age of 19, he confirmed his sprinting abilities seen in Portugal when he became the European champion for omnium. He's a product of the great job done for cycling in Turkey under the direction of Abdurrahman Açikalin who is also at the helm of the Tour of Turkey. "This is my first big result," a delighted Orken told Cyclingnews in Shengze. "It's my first time on the podium of an Elite race. My big goal is to win a stage at the Tour of Turkey. I'm learning a lot here at the Tour of Taihu, as I follow my team-mate [and winner of stage 4 Yuriy] Metlushenko everywhere."

Kadlec, 38, who is very likely going to win the Tour of Turkey is twice the age of Orken.

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