Tour of Turkey 2017 – Stage 6 [FULL STAGE]

October 15, 2017

Tour of Turkey 2017 – Stage 6 – Istanbul – Istanbul : 135 km

Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey (Turkish: Cumhurbaşkanlığı Bisiklet Turu) is a professional road bicycle racing stage race held annually in Turkey. From 2006 it was rated as a 2.2 event, before being upgraded to 2.1 in 2008, and then to 2.HC for the 2010 edition.

Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates) secured overall victory at the Tour of Turkey after defending his slim lead on the final stage in Istanbul.

Jesper Hansen (Astana) was second on the general classification at 12 seconds, with Fausto Masnada (Androni Giocattoli) rounding out the GC podium at 29 seconds.

Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) was the favourite to win the sprint finish on the slightly uphill finish after taking four sprint wins in the race so far. He was well placed when Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo) tried to split the peloton at the foot of the climb and was able to follow him, as was his Bora-Hansgrohe teammate Matteo Pelucchi.

Bennett moved past Theuns before the final corner to take Pelucchi’s wheel. However he went into the corner too fast and slid out. Theuns had to break to avoid him but had a gap on the chasers and the power to close the gap on Pelucchi and then beat him.

Theuns and Trek-Segafredo had endured a frustrating week of placing as they tried to take on Bennett. It was Theuns’ last race with the team and he was especially happy to sign off with a win. He also won the points jersey after Bennett failed to score points on the final stage.

“We had a good gap, and it was nice from Sam Bennett that he wanted to take a pull also. Then he passed in the last corner, inside, and I felt he was going really too fast. He crashed right in front of me, I had to brake full, get out of my pedal, get into my pedal again, but then I could go to Pelucchi’s wheel and get the slipstream, and I had really a lot of power left in my legs,” Theuns explained.

The final 143km stage at the Tour of Turkey started and finished in the capital Istanbul, with the race bridging two continents, starting in Asia and then crossing to the European side of Istanbul for the finish.

The early breakaway of the day included Muhammet Atalay (Turkey), Patryk Stosz (CCC Sprandi Polkowice), Thomas Deruette (WB Veranclassic) and Paolo Simion (Bardiani CSF).

They opened a lead of 1:45 but the peloton struggled to pull them back in the final kilometres as several teams opted not to work on the front and save their strength for the finish. The race eventually came back together just before the right turn onto the rise to the finish. A crash caused some chaos and left a dozen riders up front. Ulissi was well protected up front, with Theuns and Bennett there too.

Theuns tested Bennett at the beginning of the uphill to the historical district of Sultanhamet. The Irishman easily responded, as did Pelucchi, but the final corner proved fatal.

Ulissi avoided the fight for the corners and held back on the climb, marking his overall rivals and knowing he only had to reach the finish to win overall. He finished sixth on the stage, two seconds back on Theuns but celebrated overall success in a WorldTour stage race.

“I came to Turkey with the intention to win the general classification. It was a challenging goal, but my teammates and I have been impeccable all week, a magnificent week,” Ulissi said.

“The finale was the crucial moment of the stage, we did a good job avoiding all risks. I preferred to use some energy to stay out front rather than run any risk. I thank the entire team and our sponsors, I’ve closed out the season in the best way possible.”

Results :
1 Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek – Segafredo 3:24:32
2 Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) Bora – Hansgrohe
3 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Androni – Sidermec – Bottecchia
4 Jarlinson Pantano Gomez (Col) Trek – Segafredo
5 Davide Ballerini (Ita) Androni – Sidermec – Bottecchia
6 Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
7 Riccardo Minali (Ita) Astana Pro Team
8 Vincenzo Albanese (Ita) Bardiani CSF
9 Manuel Belletti (Ita) Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia
10 Simone Consonni (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
11 Igor Boev (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
12 Jesper Hansen (Den) Astana Pro Team
13 Michal Paluta (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
14 Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek – Segafredo
15 Eduard Prades Reverter (Spa) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
16 Daniel Felipe Martinez Poveda (Col) Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia
17 Fausto Masnada (Ita) Androni – Sidermec – Bottecchia
18 Ildar Arslanov (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
19 Enrico Barbin (Ita) Bardiani CSF
20 Ahmet Orken (Tur) Turkish national team
21 Diego Rubio Hernandez (Spa) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
22 Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
23 Gregory Habeaux (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aquality Protect
24 Ilia Koshevoy (Blr) Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia
25 Mateusz Taciak (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
26 Lukas Spengler (Swi) WB Veranclassic Aquality Protect
27 Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) Bora – Hansgrohe
28 Feritcan Samli (Tur) Turkish national team
29 Onur Balkan (Tur) Turkish national team
30 Piotr Brozyna (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
31 Nazim Bakirci (Tur) Turkish national team
32 Serkan Balkan (Tur) Turkish national team
33 Silvio Herklotz (Ger) Bora – Hansgrohe
34 Antonio Molina Canet (Spa) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
35 Christopher Butler (USA) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
36 Leszek Plucinski (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
37 Jhon Darwin Atapuma Hurtado (Col) UAE Team Emirates
38 Pedro Autran Dourado Dutra Nicacio (Bra) Soul Brasil Pro Cycling Team
39 Lincoln Silva (Bra) Soul Brasil Pro Cycling Team
40 Yonder Godoy (Ven) Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia
41 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Trek – Segafredo
42 Ahmet Akdilek (Tur) Turkish national team
43 Sergey Firsanov (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
44 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
45 Mattia Frapporti (Ita) Androni – Sidermec – Bottecchia
46 Edoardo Zardini (Ita) Bardiani CSF
47 Matteo Spreafico (Ita) Androni – Sidermec – Bottecchia
48 Danilo Celano (Ita) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
49 Alex Turrin (Ita) Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia
50 Murilo Ferraz Affonso (Bra) Soul Brasil Pro Cycling Team
51 Boy Van Poppel (Ned) Trek – Segafredo
52 Mirco Maestri (Ita) Bardiani CSF
53 Sergey Lagutin (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
54 Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora – Hansgrohe
55 Ivan Rovny (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
56 Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) UAE Team Emirates
57 Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF
58 Marco Maronese (Ita) Bardiani CSF
59 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
60 Jimmy Duquennoy (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aquality Protect
61 Batuhan Özgür (Tur) Turkish national team
62 Frantisek Sisr (Cze) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
63 Marko Kump (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
64 Marco Benfatto (Ita) Androni – Sidermec – Bottecchia
65 Paolo Simion (Ita) Bardiani CSF
66 Thomas Deruette (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aquality Protect
67 Jonas Koch (Ger) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
68 Rafael Reis (Por) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
69 Ruslan Tleubayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
70 Kamil Malecki (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice 0:02:28
71 Patryk Stosz (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
72 Zhandos Bizhigitov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
73 Nikita Stalnov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:02:29
74 Leopold Konig (Cze) Bora – Hansgrohe
75 Christophe Masson (Fra) WB Veranclassic Aquality Protect
76 David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
77 Marco Coledan (Ita) Trek – Segafredo
78 Julien Stassen (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aquality Protect
79 Alberto Cecchin (Ita) Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia 0:02:55
80 Andrea Vendrame (Ita) Androni – Sidermec – Bottecchia
81 Muhammet Atalay (Tur) Turkish national team 0:03:18
82 Ludovic Robeet (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aquality Protect 0:03:21
83 Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) UAE Team Emirates 0:03:22
84 Shane Archbold (NZl) Bora – Hansgrohe
85 Edward Ravasi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:03:50
86 Federico Zurlo (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:03:51
87 Simone Sterbini (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:03:56
88 Gregory Daniel (USA) Trek – Segafredo 0:04:01
89 Liam Bertazzo (Ita) Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia
90 Flavio Cardoso Santos (Bra) Soul Brasil Pro Cycling Team
91 Jordi Simon Casulleras (Spa) Soul Brasil Pro Cycling Team
92 Roberto Pinheiro Da Silva (Bra) Soul Brasil Pro Cycling Team
93 Nikolay Trusov (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
DNS Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Bora – Hansgrohe
DNS Eugenio Alafaci (Ita) Trek – Segafredo
DNS Miguel Eduardo Florez Lopez (Col) Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia

Final General Classification :
1 Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 26:32:13
2 Jesper Hansen (Den) Astana Pro Team 0:00:12
3 Fausto Masnada (Ita) Androni – Sidermec – Bottecchia 0:00:24
4 Daniel Felipe Martinez Poveda (Col) Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia 0:00:29
5 Ildar Arslanov (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo 0:00:30
6 Yonder Godoy (Ven) Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia
7 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Androni – Sidermec – Bottecchia 0:00:38
8 Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:47
9 Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:00:50
10 Jarlinson Pantano Gomez (Col) Trek – Segafredo 0:01:03
11 Eduard Prades Reverter (Spa) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA 0:01:14
12 Ilia Koshevoy (Blr) Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia
13 Jordi Simon Casulleras (Spa) Soul Brasil Pro Cycling Team 0:01:16
14 Diego Rubio Hernandez (Spa) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
15 Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek – Segafredo 0:01:17
16 Antonio Molina Canet (Spa) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA 0:01:25
17 Jhon Darwin Atapuma Hurtado (Col) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:27
18 Edoardo Zardini (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:01:30
19 Christopher Butler (USA) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA 0:01:35
20 Mateusz Taciak (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice 0:01:37
21 Silvio Herklotz (Ger) Bora – Hansgrohe 0:01:45
22 Sergey Lagutin (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo 0:02:06
23 Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek – Segafredo 0:02:07
24 Sergey Firsanov (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo 0:02:11
25 Ahmet Orken (Tur) Turkish national team 0:02:18
26 Piotr Brozyna (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice 0:02:28
27 Leszek Plucinski (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice 0:02:39
28 Enrico Barbin (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:02:59
29 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Trek – Segafredo 0:03:15
30 Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) Bora – Hansgrohe 0:03:31
31 Nazim Bakirci (Tur) Turkish national team 0:03:35
32 Michal Paluta (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice 0:03:57
33 David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA 0:04:28
34 Vincenzo Albanese (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:04:29
35 Christophe Masson (Fra) WB Veranclassic Aquality Protect 0:04:34
36 Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:05:25
37 Mirco Maestri (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:05:35
38 Zhandos Bizhigitov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:06:42
39 Julien Stassen (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aquality Protect 0:07:06
40 Gregory Habeaux (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aquality Protect 0:09:27
41 Edward Ravasi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:09:45
42 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo 0:10:44
43 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:11:32
44 Manuel Belletti (Ita) Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia 0:12:06
45 Boy Van Poppel (Ned) Trek – Segafredo 0:12:08
46 Nikolay Trusov (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo 0:12:29
47 Davide Ballerini (Ita) Androni – Sidermec – Bottecchia 0:12:36
48 Riccardo Minali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:12:50
49 Gregory Daniel (USA) Trek – Segafredo 0:13:30
50 Rafael Reis (Por) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA 0:13:43
51 Patryk Stosz (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice 0:14:29
52 Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora – Hansgrohe 0:14:30
53 Serkan Balkan (Tur) Turkish national team 0:14:37
54 Danilo Celano (Ita) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA 0:15:14
55 Simone Consonni (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:15:40
56 Lukas Spengler (Swi) WB Veranclassic Aquality Protect 0:16:33
57 Ahmet Akdilek (Tur) Turkish national team 0:17:03
58 Andrea Vendrame (Ita) Androni – Sidermec – Bottecchia 0:17:42
59 Simone Sterbini (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:19:01
60 Jonas Koch (Ger) CCC Sprandi Polkowice 0:20:06
61 Frantisek Sisr (Cze) CCC Sprandi Polkowice 0:20:43
62 Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) UAE Team Emirates 0:20:53
63 Onur Balkan (Tur) Turkish national team 0:21:26
64 Liam Bertazzo (Ita) Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia 0:21:29
65 Mattia Frapporti (Ita) Androni – Sidermec – Bottecchia 0:22:24
66 Thomas Deruette (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aquality Protect
67 Feritcan Samli (Tur) Turkish national team 0:22:59
68 Igor Boev (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo 0:23:29
69 Paolo Simion (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:23:52
70 Matteo Spreafico (Ita) Androni – Sidermec – Bottecchia 0:24:20
71 Flavio Cardoso Santos (Bra) Soul Brasil Pro Cycling Team 0:24:54
72 Nikita Stalnov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:25:04
73 Marko Kump (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 0:25:08
74 Murilo Ferraz Affonso (Bra) Soul Brasil Pro Cycling Team 0:25:44
75 Ivan Rovny (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo 0:25:45
76 Shane Archbold (NZl) Bora – Hansgrohe 0:26:17
77 Marco Maronese (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:26:33
78 Ruslan Tleubayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:27:25
79 Kamil Malecki (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice 0:28:01
80 Jimmy Duquennoy (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aquality Protect 0:28:22
81 Muhammet Atalay (Tur) Turkish national team 0:29:30
82 Federico Zurlo (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:29:41
83 Marco Benfatto (Ita) Androni – Sidermec – Bottecchia 0:29:53
84 Batuhan Özgür (Tur) Turkish national team 0:30:01
85 Marco Coledan (Ita) Trek – Segafredo 0:30:33
86 Alex Turrin (Ita) Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia 0:32:02
87 Leopold Konig (Cze) Bora – Hansgrohe 0:32:18
88 Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) Bora – Hansgrohe 0:32:34
89 Lincoln Silva (Bra) Soul Brasil Pro Cycling Team 0:32:46
90 Pedro Autran Dourado Dutra Nicacio (Bra) Soul Brasil Pro Cycling Team 0:33:15
91 Alberto Cecchin (Ita) Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia 0:34:24
92 Ludovic Robeet (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aquality Protect 0:35:59
93 Roberto Pinheiro Da Silva (Bra) Soul Brasil Pro Cycling Team 0:40:23