Rapinski proves himself strong sprinter at Tour de Qinghai Lake

Viktar Rapinski, a hard-to-remember name for the Chinese spectators doesn't block him from becoming a hot star here as he won the fourth stage of Tour de Qinghai Lake cycling race on Tuesday, holding on both the yellow and green jersey.

The Belorussia-born youngster was introduced by the team manager Edward Beamon of Navigators Cycling Team based in the United States to be s strong sprinter.

"Viktar's nickname in the United States is 'the moose' which is very strong," said Beamon, "And he is a very strong rider, a very good sprinter and very determined. He works very very hard."

So did the young rider proved to be.

Ninety-nine riders started the mild fourth stage from Bird Island where hundreds of birds hovered over the start line to say "goodbye", and ran along the Qinghai Lake, the largest salt lake in China for 120km. But the riders do not have the luck to appreciate the beautiful sight around them as the race is becoming a hard-fought war entering the fourth stage. The side wind produced by the lake also added difficulties to the riding, because a good position is crucial at such kind of condition.

However, the try to break away has never been given up, but all the efforts lead to no result during the first 40km of the course.

Viktar Rapinski, who was hiding in the second group for almost 100km, sped up from the last 20km to caught up with the slightly leading riders and surged past Cadamuro Simone, the winner of the third stage to be the first one to cross the finish line, clocking two hours 26 minutes 44 seconds, which insured him the yellow jersey for the third time and the green jersey for the leading sprinter for the fourth consecutive stage.

Christopher Baldwin, also from Navigators, pulled on the red jersey for the leading climber.

Beamon concluded the secret of Navigators' continuous win as "good teamwork" and "good preparation".

"The six guys in the team has been very coordinated and working very well together." said Beawon, "We did some races at fairly good altitude, about 1000 meters, and some of the guys trained at around 2000 meters, but it is still much higher here, a little bit difficult for us, and we may see that in the mountains.

"My assistant came here last year, so we know what it is like here and how to prepare for it. An American won the race at the first edition from which we know what to expect here.

"Viktar is a good sprinter, but the mountains would be difficult for him. But we have two very good climbers in our team. Viktar may lose the yellow jersey, but his teammate may pick it up."

Iglinskiy Maxim from Kazakstan hold on the blue jersey by finishing the sixth of the stage.

The 173.2km fifth stage goes from Qinghai Lake back to Xining, with the lowest altitude of 2,255 meters and the highest of 3,290 meters.