Stevens on the attack on opening Istanbul day

Team Novo Nordisk opened the Tour of Istanbul with a solid team performance on a stage that turned tricky in the crosswinds, with Lucas Terrier (31st) and Sam Brand (34th) leading the team home in the main bunch.

The plan for the day was for Hayden Stevens, Marco Grittner, Oliver Clements and Louis-Marie Posnic to get into the early breakaway. Stevens made the initial move, joining a large breakaway group from kilometre zero. Racing into a headwind for much of the day, the break steadily whittled down before Stevens took 2nd at the intermediate sprint.

Back in the bunch, a switch to crosswinds turned the race chaotic, with the peloton splitting under pressure. The team rode a strong protective role for Brand through the move, keeping him well positioned as the race regrouped. Brand, racing his first day back after travelling in from the Philadelphia Cycling Classic, praised the team’s work in tricky conditions.

“It was a strange day, coming straight in from Philadelphia the body is getting back up to speed. Hayden got away in the first move and it was a headwind so a slow start into the race, but we had to be focussed as when we changed to crosswind it was chaotic,” said Brand. “Louis-Marie and the boys did well protecting me and we rode well in a group. Coming into the end, Lucas Terrier did a great job holding position with me and we crossed the line together.”

Stevens, who spent the majority of the stage off the front, reflected on a hard day in the break.

“We went from km 0 and started off with a big breakaway group, but it was very hard with the headwind all day. Slowly the breakaway got smaller and smaller, then at the intermediate sprint I got 2nd,” said Stevens. “Then I waited for the bunch and tried helping the boys for the last 30km.”

The race continues tomorrow, starting and finishing in Şile over 149.9 kilometers.