Tour of Turkey – Cav beaten by Viviani

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Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma Quickstep) was second on stage 5 of the Tour of Turkey on Thursday whilst Adam Yates 2nd overall before queen stage today

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Tour of Turkey – Cav beaten by Viviani

Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma Quickstep) was second on stage 5 of the Tour of Turkey on Thursday whilst Adam Yates 2nd overall before queen stage today

On the climb out of Marmaris, an early break of nine riders escaped from the field. The escape worked well together to gain a maximum advantage of four minutes on the field. Just inside the final hour of racing, Omega Pharma – Quick-Step took control of the stage, bringing the leaders within reach before the finish line. In the closing kilometres, several counter-attacks kept the peloton on high alert over the final climb, but it was gruppo compacto for the finale.

The game of poker went against Cav and his Omega Pharma – Quick-Step teammates were forced to take up the chase of a breakaway, while trying to conserve riders for the anticipated bunch sprint finale. Cav’s teammates Gianni Meersman, Gert Steegmans, Alessandro Petacchi, and Mark Renshaw peeled off one-by-one after taking long pulls on the front for the Manx Missile.

Renshaw dropped off Cavendish with a little more than 200m to go. Elia Viviani (Cannondale) was able to launch a little later, and after a close battle into a headwind, Viviani crossed the line with the win over Cavendish in the points jersey. Kristian Sbaragli (MTN-Qhubeka) was 3rd.

Whilst Cavendish wasn’t happy, the Italian Elia Viviani was! “I dreamed of a finish like this so many times” said a beaming Viviani. “I had great ambitions for this Tour of Turkey and I was very motivated to go home with a win. In the first stage I was close, it was the signal that I had to keep trying.” Today, everything was perfect. In addition, I beat a champion like Cavendish”.

“I have a lot of respect for him and what he has won. I have tried many times to put my wheel in front of him. So this is a dream victory.”

“The most heartfelt thanks go out to my teammates who have supported me from the first stage and even today, were not spared to help me. Our strategy was to force the pace on the final climb to fatigue Cav and the other sprinters. In the end I did not give up his wheel. Needless to say that he was the man to beat. At about 200 meters from the finish I decided to launch the sprint and it went great.”

The Calm Before the Tour of Turkey Queen Stage Storm
Adam Yates finished safely in the bunch thanks to the work done by his teammates. The overall classification remains unchanged as Rein Taaramäe (Cofidis) continues to sit 6” ahead of the British neo-pro. Romain Hardy (Cofidis) is in third overall at 38”.

“Today went really well for us,” said Assistant Sport Director Julian Dean. “ Our priority of the day was to protect Adam and that came off without a hitch.” Today’s stage will be the last day for the overall contenders to make their move on the overall. The Australian outfit sees the stage as a chance to help young Yates test his fortitude and strength against his main rivals.

“The guys did a good job of looking after Adam today,” said Dean. “Tomorrow we are going to race more aggressively to help Adam before the final three kilometre climb. We are looking forward to seeing how the stage unfolds.” The Australian outfit will take on the challenge with only five riders as Mitch Docker withdrew from the Tour of Turkey ahead of stage six. Nursing a minor injury, Docker will be going home as a precautionary measure to rest before his Giro d’Italia start next week.

STAGE
1 VIVIANI Elia Cannondale 04:34:11
2 CAVENDISH Mark Omega Pharma – Quick-Step
3 SBARAGLI Kristian MTN – Qhubeka
4 FEDI Andrea Neri Sottoli
5 NAPOLITANO Danilo Wanty – Groupe Gobert
6 ANDRIATO DE MATTAS Rafael Neri Sottoli
7 MARKUS Barry Belkin-Pro Cycling Team
8 BONIFAZIO Niccolo Lampre-Merida
9 VAN STAEYEN Michael Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise
10 PHELAN Adam Drapac Professional Cycling
30 REBELLIN Davide CCC Polsat Polkowice
31 YATES Adam Orica GreenEDGE
40 HENDERSON Gregory Lotto Belisol
42 SANCHEZ Luis Leon Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
137 GREIPEL André Lotto Belisol 08:53

OVERALL
1 TAARAMäE Rein Cofidis, Solutions Crédits 10 20:35:05
2 YATES Adam Orica GreenEDGE 00:06
3 HARDY Romain Cofidis, Solutions Crédits 00:38
4 KUDUS Merhawi MTN – Qhubeka
5 SANCHEZ Luis Leon Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
6 HANSEN Adam Lotto Belisol 00:43
7 COBO ACEBO Juan Jose Torku Åžekerspor 00:44
8 BARBIN Enrico Bardiani – CSF
9 FORMOLO Davide Cannondale
10 DYACHENKO Alexandr Astana Pro Team

 

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