Krisztian Lovassy wins 5th stage and Andrei Nechita retains his overall lead in 2011 Tour of Romania
Ora Hotels Carrera team’s Krisztian Lovassy won the fifth stage of 2011 Tour of Romania on Wednesday, on June 8. Andrei Nechita maintained his overall leader’s yellow jersey.
The race started in Targu Neamt and ended at Tirgu Mures. Krisztian Lovassy took a total of 4 hours, 9 minutes and 18 seconds to cover a distance of 212 kilometres.
Florin-Gabriel Saveliu was the runner-up with the same timing of Krisztian, while the Italian rider, Piergiacomo Marcolina, was in third spot.
Christoph Springer of the SP Tableware team tried his best to catch the 45 cyclists, but he failed and grabbed 46th place with a difference of 14 seconds. The race leader, Andrei Nechita of Romania, grabbed 13th spot ahead of his team-mate, Gregor Hoops.
Only one rider, Pavlin Balinsky of the Konya Torku Seker Spor – Vivelo team, was disqualified from the race.
Andrei Nechita took the lead in overall classification with a timing of 22 hours, 37 minutes and 39 seconds. Ioannis Tamouridis was runner-up with 3 minutes and 46 seconds behind Andrei.
Italian rider, Angelo Ciccone, finished third with a difference of 4 minutes and 21 seconds, while the stage winner, Krisztian Lovassy, grabbed the 8th spot with 10 minutes and 14 seconds adrift.
After winning the overall lead, Andrei Nechita said, “We all felt after yesterday, very difficult and demanding. Plus I felt after the fall from the day before, so I was very hard especially on climbing. I felt however that team helped me a lot in the race.
In fact all the Romanians in the competition have supported me.”
Previously, Nechita won the Romanian Champion- Road Race in 2009 and 2010. The Romanian Cycling Federation, General Secretary, Selejan Vasile, said, "So far, it seems like one rule for the Romanians to win the Tour Romania every five years. Let us hope that
Andrei Nechita will succeed in changing this unwritten rule, as many argue.”
The next stage will start in Tirgu Mures and end in Sibiu. All the riders will cover a distance of 150 kilometres.
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