The race pressed on.
After a period of high-intensity attacks and counter-attacks, riders had already begun to fall off the back.
But the members of the Kazakhstan team saw that Japan, China, Mongolia, Thailand, South Korea, Indonesia, and others still had plenty of riders right behind them. After a quick discussion, they rotated another domestique to the front to increase the pace again.
The section from the 60-kilometer mark to around the 90-kilometer mark was nothing but rolling hills—a relentless series of short, undulating climbs.
Although Kazakhstan was supremely confident in their riders' strength, they weren't so arrogant as to skip their homework and not recon the course beforehand.
As a result, they were also very familiar with the characteristics of today's route.
