On Sunday, October 27, the 159km L’Etape Thailand started from exotic emerald-green Phang Nga Bay with its sheer vertical limestone karsts made famous by James Bond in The Man With The Golden Gun movie.
With 2011 Tour de France winner and World Champion Cadel Evans leading the charge, 1000 riders took off on a point-to-point route featuring two challenging KOM sections, Khao-Nang-Hong and Tha-Dai-Hill.
On a L’Etape podium filled with young riders, Valentin Midey rose to the top, finishing in 4:01:18, followed by 浩 胡 at 4:04:10 and 梵心 朱 4:04:17. Only 3 minutes back, 42-year old Cadel Evans showed a bit of his former Tour de France form to finish 5th. Ex-pro Christian Vande Velde finished 10th, while his former-US Postal teammate George Hincapie was a DNF. Olympic medalist Bobby Julich rolled in at 27th.
Chairin Kulacha won the women’s category, crossing the finish line in 13th position overall at 4:04:28. 敏仪 谢 was second and Pechapierin Lopez de Leon third.
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