Cyclists set off from beside Lihu Lake in Wuxi's Binhu district in the first stage of the Tour of Taihu Lake on Oct 11. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Nicolas Marini claimed a wafer-thin victory in the first stage of the Tour of Taihu Lake 2017 in Wuxi, Jiangsu province on Oct 11.

The Italian, who races for the Nippo Vini Fantini team, once again edged out his compatriot Jakub Mareczko, who crossed the line in third place, to win a tight first stage.

Marini also narrowly beat Mareczko in stage four of last year's Tour of Taihu Lake.

Meanwhile, the prologue winner Guillaume Boivin from Israel Cycling Academy retained the orange leader's jersey and moved into the lead in the individual general classification.

His teammate Jason Lowndes also kept up his great start to the tour and retained the blue leader's jersey in the under-25s classification.

The second stage will be held in Changzhou's Wujing district tomorrow. The 117-kilometer course starts from the city's renowned attraction, Yancheng Park, and ends at the Mingdu Hoki International Hotel.

The Tour of Taihu Lake was first held in 2010 in Wuxi and has since grown into one of the country's most popular cycling events. It is also an important fixture on the UCI Asia Tour calendar.

Cyclists zip along the Wuxi Binhu Circuit, the first stage of the Tour of Taihu Lake, on Oct 11. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]