A resounding victory and a forecast that proved entirely accurate—Alexander Salby has returned to the Tour of Magnificent Qinghai and made an immediate impact, bringing his tally to three victories following the two he secured last year. The Danish rider from the Li Ning Star team delighted the Chinese public and local media, who rushed to interview him this very morning.

«This is the third time I've raced this stage and I've finally managed to win. I'm happy not only for myself but especially for the Chinese team, which was keen to perform well. My teammates were fantastic—they put themselves at my service from the start of the stage and gave me tremendous support to secure a good position for the sprint. I believe that everything is possible when you work with such a united team, and it's wonderful to have been able to repay everything they did for me,» said Salby, who now reaches five seasonal victories. The Danish athlete narrowly escaped being caught up in the crash that split the group in the final kilometer.

Racing constantly above 2,500 meters is far from easy, and proper acclimatization is essential. That's why Salby flew to China just over a week ago to be ready, attempting to recover from the crash he suffered during the national championships. «My preparation wasn't ideal—I crashed during the road race at the Danish nationals, so I had to accelerate my recovery. I arrived in China as soon as possible, just over a week ago. Compared to the other guys, I've done less altitude training, but the team was incredibly supportive in helping me find my best form. Today my teammates worked for me; tomorrow is a very difficult stage, and I'll try to put myself at their service,»

This is Alexander Salby's third time at the Tour of Magnificent Qinghai, his second with the Chinese team Li Ning Star, which is particularly connected to this competition. In 2024, he started with the Bingoal team; after two seasons with the Belgian squad, the Dane found a new home in Asia—a staff that perhaps doesn't have the long cycling tradition of other teams but is equally prepared and ready to put their heart into everything they do. «When I arrived at this team, I came from a completely different context and I admit I was somewhat disoriented and frightened, but the situation changed immediately. The staff welcomed me and the other Europeans in the best possible way so we wouldn't suffer from the difference; in fact, they made us feel at home. There's no real captain here—there's room for everyone and they don't put pressure on us; rather, they try to create an environment for us to work at our best. Despite being a continental team, there's great attention to detail, but above all there's a good team spirit. I believe that's the most important aspect of all.»