Tour of Turkey, Stage 5: Selcuk - Manisa
October 12, 2018
The Tour of Turkey is unabashedly itself, and that means wide open highways, gradual climbs, chaotic sprints and an all-or-nothing decision forced at the climb at Selcuk. Although, all or nothing? The top 12 is seperated by only 10 seconds, with two stages to go! Let's go! Or, as they say in Turkey:
Başla!
Stage 4: Marmaris - Selcuk / 215 km / Medium Mountain
So, what's your opinion: did the Queen Stage deliver? The stage started with a breakaway going up the road, with most visibly Aldemar Reyes (Manzana Postobon) and Grega Bole (Bahrain Merida) fighting for the KOM points. Bole took first at the first category climb, with Reyes just behind. Like last year, the break managed to stay away until the penultimate climb, when the peloton managed by CCC and BMC homed in on the escapees on the wide roads. Bole was detirmed to get the KOM points here too, and forged on before the peloton could catch up. In his wheel, Reyes slipped along, and with his points from previous stages, the Colombian earned the Red Jersey before being absorbed by the peloton. Bole and the last of the escapees, Burgos' Rubio, held on for a few kilometres longer, but they too had to relent.
What happened next was the polar opposite of last year: there was no single WT team willing to control the peloton and as attacks flew from every direction - Sunweb's Louis Vervaecke, Euskadi's Enrique Sanz, Caja Rural's Pardilla and even UAE's Durasek to name a few - it was left up to smaller teams and individuals to chase the attacks down: Manzana Postobon's Fernando Orjuela put in a lot of work, as did Russian national champion Ivan Rovny. It was only at 1100 metres to go, on the steepest part of the climb, that UAE tried to take control with Durasek on front, a move that was immedeatly broken by an attack by Nicholas Roche. Nearing the finish, it was clear there was going to be a big sprint for the finish. It was Diego Ulissi himself who went first, with Euskadi's Eduardo Prades moving all the way from the back of the group to catch the Italian's wheel. Both might have gone too early, as challenger Alexey Lutsenko showed he had plenty in the tank to make the jump over them, taking the stage and overall lead with Ulissi and Prades completing the podium. Initial results showed a gap of 2" between fourth place finisher Knox (Quickstep) and the rest of the favourites group, but that was neutralized in the official results. The consequence: the top 12 in the overall is separated by nothing but the bonification seconds of a single sprint!
Stage 5: Selcuk - Manisa / 135 km / flat
The Tour of Turkey is anything but cruel. Six days is too short to include a rest day, but the day after the riders had to cross climb after climb, they're treated to a short, flat stage. Off course, a short, flat stage could just as well mean punishment, as sprinters' teams push on at a speed that climbers can hardly imagine!
The day will probably start off hardest for Grega Bole, Valdemar Reyes and Beñat Txoperena. These three are within spitting distance of each other in the mountain classification, and there are only a few points left on offer. The KOM points are on top of a longish ascent: most of it with pretty low gradients, but a 10% slope about halfway through the actual climb. From there on on, it's a simple ride to the finish straight.
The run in to the line is one of the longest run-ins for this Tour of Turkey: the last corner is at 3 kilometres from the end, with another bend at 2.2 km. From there on on, it's straight onwards on wide roads with plenty of cover from the wind. The winds are a bit stronger than earlier this week, so they might provide some entertainment on the long road towards Manisa,
The Contenders
Sam Bennett is the out and about favourite for the day. Is there any question as to why? With such a straightforward run-in, Quickstep won't be able to play much tactical games with their two sprinters, so it becomes a matter of individual speed.
Maximiano Richeze or Alvaro Hodeg. The only thing Quickstep could try to play tactics in is with the windy sectors. Zdenek Stybar is arguably the best classics rider in this peloton, but the team won´t be able to miss him from the lead-out train. I´ve got little idea who the team will support on this stage, but my guess is Hodeg. Richeze had his second attempt on stage 3, so now it´s the Colombian´s turn. Hodeg has dropped early these past two days, which hopefully has given him opportunity to rest.
John Degenkolb will likely be lacking in pure speed for this stage finish, but that won´t stop him from trying.
Onur Balkan leads the Beauties of Turkey competition. The dedicated sprint on this stage is very close to the stage finish - at 10 km to go. Expect the national selection to be at the front of the peloton there to deliver Onur for his sprint there.
Eduard Prades (EUS). Is he a climber, or is he a sprinter? It's one of the best kept secrets in the peloton, and Eduard keeps pulling off both. With a stage win, he could theorettically take over the race lead, but sprinting against Quickstep or Bennett is a tough ask.
Maximiano Richeze or Alvaro Hodeg. The only thing Quickstep could try to play tactics in is with the windy sectors. Zdenek Stybar is arguably the best classics rider in this peloton, but the team won´t be able to miss him from the lead-out train. I´ve got little idea who the team will support on this stage, but my guess is Hodeg. Richeze had his second attempt on stage 3, so now it´s the Colombian´s turn. Hodeg has dropped early these past two days, which hopefully has given him opportunity to rest.
John Degenkolb will likely be lacking in pure speed for this stage finish, but that won´t stop him from trying.
Onur Balkan leads the Beauties of Turkey competition. The dedicated sprint on this stage is very close to the stage finish - at 10 km to go. Expect the national selection to be at the front of the peloton there to deliver Onur for his sprint there.
Eduard Prades (EUS). Is he a climber, or is he a sprinter? It's one of the best kept secrets in the peloton, and Eduard keeps pulling off both. With a stage win, he could theorettically take over the race lead, but sprinting against Quickstep or Bennett is a tough ask.
The Stars and Moons:
🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙 Sam Bennett🌙🌙🌙🌙 Richeze, Hodeg
🌙🌙🌙 Degenkolb, Consonni, Theuns, Drucker
🌙🌙 Prades, Sanz, Garcia Cortina, Jones, Stybar, Balkan
Prediction:
This one bears no discussion. Sam Bennett gets the three.
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