The flattest stage race on the women's calendar, decided by sprinters, crosswinds, and the smallest margins in bunch finishes.
Tour of Chongming Island is a three-day women's WorldTour stage race held each May on China's third-largest island, located in the Yangtze River delta near Shanghai. First run in 2007, it remains the only top-tier women's race in Asia.
Kirsten Wild won the race five times between 2012 and 2018, a record that underscores how well-drilled sprint squads dominate here.
This is the calendar's purest test of sprint teams and flat-road positioning. Held on a low-lying island laced with coastal roads and exposed farmland, the race rewards teams that can control the front, navigate crosswinds, and deliver fast finishers day after day. It is also the only women's WorldTour event in Asia, offering a rare window into the sport's presence in China and a chance to see how European-based teams adapt to long-haul travel and unfamiliar roads.
The island is almost entirely flat, with wide roads, long straightaways, and frequent exposure to wind off the Yangtze and East China Sea. Stages typically run between 100 and 130 kilometers, and the general classification is usually decided by bonus seconds rather than time gaps. Crosswinds are the primary tactical variable. When the wind picks up, echelons can split the peloton and eliminate sprinters who lack positioning or team support. On calmer days, the race becomes a pure sprint contest, with lead-out trains controlling the finale and GC contenders fighting for every bonus second at intermediate sprints and stage finishes. Time bonuses matter more here than in almost any other stage race. A rider who wins two stages and collects intermediate bonuses can build a lead that is nearly impossible to overturn without another bunch sprint victory. The final stage often finishes on a circuit around the island's eastern coast, where positioning into the last few corners determines the overall winner.
Most recent winner: Anne Knijnenburg