MENYUAN, Qinghai, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Romanian national champion Eduard Grosu outsprinted points leader Luca Pacioni of Italy at the stage 7 final of the Tour of Qinghai Lake on Saturday.
The race was back in favor of sprinters at the seventh stage after Hernan Aguirre of Columbia established an unassailable lead with two wins over four mountain stages in a row.
Two days after taking second during a contested finish, the recently crowned Romanian road race champion Grosu of Nippo-Vini Fantini, who captured the third stage win on Tuesday, found himself back on top of the podium.
After a four-man break was foiled with 60 kilometres to go, Grosu bested current points leader Pacioni of Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia, who has two runner-up stage results and a third place to his credit this week, and Tim Ariesen of Ningxia Sports Lottery-Livall in a bunch sprint finish.
The Romanian completed this 169-km stage in 4:00.43.
"It was an amazing stage," said the 25-year-old, who won the first of his Qinghai Lake stage wins in 2014. "I know the stage from last year, and I know I can win because it was a bit hard at the start and Brenton Jones and the other sprinters are not so good in the climb, and I have a good chance to win."
Aguirre of Manzana Postobon retained the yellow jersy and 1:05 lead with six stages left.
With no changes on general classification or the polka-dot mountains jersey, both belonging to Aguirre, the eighth stage continues on Sunday with the longest stage of the two-week race - a 237-km stage from Qingshizui to Zhangye, featuring two category two climbs inside the first 100 kilometers.
