Kiwi leads the UCI2.1 Tour of China

Sep 11th, 11. After winning the opening stage of the ten day UCI2.1 Tour of China, Kiwi Rico Rogers is in the tour leader's yellow jersey.

Racing for his team Giant Kenda Pro Cycling, Rogers won the bunch sprint on yesterday's wet first day of racing.

"It's great. I'm very happy," the 32 year old Melbourne based Kiwi told RoadCycling.co.nz. "We had a rider in the break for most of the day so I just sat in, I knew I had good legs and seemed to win comfortably."

Today's Stage 2 is a flat stage, but Rogers is not expecting his team to be taking a strong defensive role to protect his lead. 

"I think I have good form, so I'll be trying to win another stage or the points jersey," he said.

Rogers won two stages of this tour last year after a standout season racing in Australia's Scody Cup series earned him a contract with the China based UCI Continental Team.

Another strong performance in this year's Scody Cup, where he raced in composite teams, saw many more podiums and gave Rogers great form to take back to China.

Photo: Rico Rogers (2010) ©Shane Goss – licoricegallery.com