Presidential Tour Of Turkey 16 - 21 April 2019

[tobydawq]

Say what you want about this race but it has certainly had its moments:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ru3vGR8nck (I think this may be Kirby's best work)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JMY68cS9gw (still the most inexplicable action I have seen in cycling, and I don't get why Bos wasn't permabanned from the sport)

It does not deserve a sport on the WorldTour, though.

 

[RedheadDane]

Just pretend it's an HC race, playing at being a WT race.

 

[Red Rick]

I legit thought it was a 2.1

 

[Robert5091]

Re: Re:

I was looking at the start list and only 17 teams are listed, several of them continental.
It is a World Tour event, don't all the WT teams have to compete?

No, they don't all have to participate, just a minimum of 10 teams.

Which there isn't here.

They said that if a race couldn't make 10 WT teams attend two years in a row, it would be degraded from the WorldTour. This is the third consecutive year with less than ten WT teams in Turkey. Apparently it was a rule that didn't need to be followed. What is the point of such a rule?

the first year they may have made an exception due to the late date change, I guess, but now there aren't many excuses anymore indeed.

Although, to be fair, there are no continental teams of course. They aren't even allowed to participate in WT races.

Having a quick drag through the UCI rules, it seems the Professional Cycling Council have the last say on what is WT status.

 

[Robert5091]

Official start list at http://www.tourofturkey.org.tr/content/files/sonuclar/2019/startlist/stage1_startlist.pdf

Recap today stage 1 - İstanbul to Tekirdağ 156.7 km - flat along the coast
Start at 11:00 local, 10:00am CET, 4:00am ET

Map of finish

profile of last 3 km

Ewan v Bennett for the sprint - but how will The Cav do?

 

[tobydawq]

Re:

Official start list at http://www.tourofturkey.org.tr/content/files/sonuclar/2019/startlist/stage1_startlist.pdf

Recap today stage 1 - İstanbul to Tekirdağ 156.7 km - flat along the coast
Start at 11:00 local, 10:00am CET, 4:00am ET

Map of finish

profile of last 3 km

Ewan v Bennett for the sprint - but how will The Cav do?

Discount Deceuninck at your own peril.

 

[Tim Booth]

Re: Re:

I was looking at the start list and only 17 teams are listed, several of them continental.
It is a World Tour event, don't all the WT teams have to compete?

No, they don't all have to participate, just a minimum of 10 teams.

Which there isn't here.

They said that if a race couldn't make 10 WT teams attend two years in a row, it would be degraded from the WorldTour. This is the third consecutive year with less than ten WT teams in Turkey. Apparently it was a rule that didn't need to be followed. What is the point of such a rule?

the first year they may have made an exception due to the late date change, I guess, but now there aren't many excuses anymore indeed.

Although, to be fair, there are no continental teams of course. They aren't even allowed to participate in WT races.

'no continental teams of course.'
rule dodging. Turkey national team are all team Salcano-Sakarya riders....

 

[Robert5091]

Lotto S already one man down -
https://twitter.com/tourofturkeyTUR/status/1118062936046612480

One non starter: Carl Frederick Hagen of Lotto-Soudal, due to sickness.

(I have not forgotten QS but which one of their riders is favourite to win?! It's now like QS versus the rest!)

 

[Red Rick]

Hopefully Cavendish can finish

 

[Robert5091]

After 10 km Bizhigitov (Astana), Robredo (BH), Fortunato (Neri), Oronte (Rally), De Vylder (Topsport) and Samli (Turkey) have 3 minutes on the peloton so they're not rushing it today.
https://twitter.com/tourofturkeyTUR/status/1118067843789152256

Edit - update - not Bizhigitov (Astana) #6 but De Rossi (Delko) #86

 

[Mayomaniac]

Remco should finish top 10 against this field, top 5 would be a great result.
People shouldn't have super high expectations.

 

[tobydawq]

Re:

Remco should finish top 10 against this field, top 5 would be a great result.
People shouldn't have super high expectations.

I think he will win. There is not one rider in this field I would put above Remco on a route like this. The lack of a TT is unfortunate foe him, though.

 

[Valv.Piti]

HE IS GONNA GET CAUGHT, HE IS NOT GONNA MAKE IT!..... JOY FOR CYCLING FANS GLOBALLY!

Haha that Keisse stage is amazing work by Kirby.

 

[Laplaz]

Re: Re:

Remco should finish top 10 against this field, top 5 would be a great result.
People shouldn't have super high expectations.

I think he will win. There is not one rider in this field I would put above Remco on a route like this. The lack of a TT is unfortunate foe him, though.

Kudus, Grossschartner and O'Connor should be his biggest rivals.

 

[vladimir]

Re: Re:

Remco should finish top 10 against this field, top 5 would be a great result.
People shouldn't have super high expectations.

I think he will win. There is not one rider in this field I would put above Remco on a route like this. The lack of a TT is unfortunate foe him, though.

Kudus, Grossschartner and O'Connor should be his biggest rivals.

I am sure I'm jinxing my unique pick in the Cq game now, but I will still claim that Valerio Conti should be considered the favourite to win this bike race.

 

[Robert5091]

Looks like they'll be going into a stiff headwind the last 3 km.

 

[Laplaz]

Bennett wins the first stage

 

[tobydawq]

Jakobsen mistook one of the finish line looking white lines for the actual finish line...

 

[Robert5091]

Well that went pretty much as everyone expected. Another win for Bennett - chapeau! What happened to Cav?

 

[tobydawq]

Re:

Well that went pretty much as everyone expected. Another win for Bennett - chapeau! What happened to Cav?

Nothing.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Another race where DCQ are fielding both young sprinters at the same time. I just don’t understand why.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

There’s actually a pretty strong sprint field here. Not deep at all, but the best few are very fast.

Someone on twitter just pointed out that Bennett has now won at least one stage of every stage race he has started for a full year!

 

[Anderis]

Re:

Someone on twitter just pointed out that Bennett has now won at least one stage of every stage race he has started for a full year!

True, the last one he didn't was last year's Catalunya.

He is having a great year. He needs to find a team that will treat him like a proper leader and give him the best calendar and good support for 2020.

 

[Salvarani]

It cant be that much of an awful calender if he is winning races... but yeah, he should probably get the opportunity in races with a bit more notoriety at this point. Just to see if he can keep winning and performing in those races too. He has more than earned that opportunity.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Re:

It cant be that much of an awful calender if he is winning races... but yeah, he should probably get the opportunity in races with a bit more notoriety at this point. Just to see if he can keep winning and performing in those races too. He has more than earned that opportunity.

It’s not a bad calendar outside of the GTs. Bora are not screwing him over or cutting their losses and giving him the leftovers of the season. They are doing their best to split things three ways. It’s just that for reasons that aren’t about sprinting ability, the other two guys get the Tour and Giro and no top sprinter in his peak years can accept that for long.