"Today was a hot stage with everyone waiting for the sprint finish. Unlike other days, nobody crashed."

Those were the words of Astana's Arman Kamyshev after stage seven at the 2015 Tour of Hainan. Kamyshev and his teammates rode the flat, sprint stage under a blazing tropical sun, now a week into the mostly flat race around Hainan island, characterized by fast days and frequent crashes.

On a very hot day that did finish indeed with a mass sprint, won by German rider Tino Thömel, Ruslan Tleubayev finished sixth.

Tomorrow riders will face the queen stage of the race, which should break apart the General Classification logjam and find current race leader Sacha Modolo of Italy under pressure.