Davis maintains yellow jersey as team shows strength in depth

XIHAIZHEN, Qinghai Province: Tour of Qinghai Lake leader Allan Davis set out yesterday intending to play the 3rd stage safe but ended up as the winner.

The Discovery Channel team's Australian rider took advantage of superior teamwork in the final meters to win the 152km stage from Bird Island to Xihaizhen. The win tightens his grip on the yellow jersey as he now sits 20 seconds ahead of Intel-Action's Kostyuk Denys.

Allan's teammate Li Fuyu from China kept his blue jersey as Asia's best, 10th in the overall standings.

The altitude in the stage never went below 3,100m, but the difficulty was mitigated by the course being relatively flat.

"It was very attacking stage. It was very hard for the whole team. They played a very big role along the way," said Davis. "Other teams tried to block us. Fortunately we just came down and won the stage thanks to the dedicated team."

"I tried to have the breakaway the whole day. It was very hard. The boys did a lot of work at the end and came back together for a few sprints."

The real test comes today as the 172km 4th stage from Xihaizhen to Guide boasts a race-high attitude of 3880 meters and some sharp climbs.

"I think the pressure is still on. The teams like Relax (Spain's Relax-Gam Team) and Selle Italia (Venezuela's CLM Team) will keep chasing. The other teams have very good climbers and they really have to do some work now. We have done a lot of work but there is still pressure on us, especially from Relax," said Davis.

History has shown the Qinghai Lake tour is one suited for climbers. In 2003, Giro d'Italia champion Damiano Cunego triumphed, and last year it was Dutchman Maarten Tjallingii.

Admitting he's no pure climber, Davis and his Chinese teammate Li have nevertheless become protected men on Discovery Channel - particularly after leader Janez Brajkovic lost more than three minutes the day before. Despite some serious climbs in the days to come, the long downhills should work in their favor.

"I'm not a mountain rider at all - but the way it's turned out," Davis said. "For the respect of what the boys are doing now, I'll have a crack at it..

"There's big downhills and big open roads, too. We've got a few non-climbers here, but if we can get them over the top on a couple of stages, that'll help."

(China Daily 07/17/2007 page22)