At the Tour of Magnificent Qinghai Jonathan Caicedo is carving out a role as a true protagonist. In the third stage, thanks to second place, he had worn the leader's jersey and yesterday with the same result he has once again jumped to the top of the general classification. The Ecuadorian from Wheeltop Roto Chengdu team launched a solo chase against Christian Bagatin, defying the wind and cold.

«Yesterday's stage was extremely cold, it rained from start to finish and I wasn't feeling too well. On the climb I lost ground, but I threw myself literally into the descent and little by little I managed to recover several riders. In the leading group everyone was very cold, when we caught up with the Team Astana pair, about 40 km from the finish, the race was wide open. Bagatin attacked, but there was no agreement behind, I launched myself in pursuit of him, I did 30 km all alone with only one thought in my head: I had the opportunity to take the leader's jersey and I wanted to make the most of it. I admit it, wearing it again is truly emotional.» Caicedo said after the finish line. The victory didn't come, but he doesn't care, what pushed him in the final kilometers was especially the possibility of wearing the leader's jersey again and in some way getting his head back above the crowd.

Jonathan Caicedo in China has returned to smiling after a few months that were almost a nightmare. His cycling story is made of excellent successes, three-time national time trial champion, one road race champion and in 2020 he even managed to win a stage of the Giro d'Italia ahead of Giovanni Visconti when he was riding for EF Pro Cycling. About a month and a half ago, however, his cycling career risked being abruptly interrupted, Petrolike, the team he had been with since 2024, went into deep crisis, license suspended, no more races, no certainty. «Those were difficult weeks, I was at home but I couldn't train anymore, I had no prospect of being able to race and especially after so many years as a professional I risked having to quit. Petrolike was a beautiful team, it was born with an excellent project, but as often happens everything was lost and at that point they gave me the green light.» Caicedo explained to us. Meanwhile the Ecuadorian rider knocked on many doors, always driven by the desire to continue his dream. Almost suddenly he met Wheeltop Rotor Chengdu Team, a Chinese formation that immediately accepted him with enthusiasm. Now Caicedo is repaying them for everything by bringing them to the top step of the race.

 Currently Caicedo, with three stages remaining, has a 9-second advantage over former yellow jersey Jan Castellon, but at the Tour of Magnificent Qinghai nothing is certain. In the Chinese race everything can change from one moment to the next also because in each stage there are 10” of time bonuses up for grabs for the stage winner, plus those at the intermediate sprints. «The race is wide open, if I'm feeling good I'll certainly try to attack and maybe win a stage, otherwise I'll try to hold on. The leader's jersey is special, for me it represents a kind of rebirth, a few weeks ago I had no future in cycling and instead here I am even trying to win the race» says Caicedo as he is wrapped in the embrace of his team's staff. They snap photos with the jersey and the bike, from every angle, however things go it's truly a special beginning.