Lozano on the Attack in the Penultimate Turkey Stage

Stage 7 of the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey ran from Selçuk to Çeşme, covering 144 kilometers. A breakaway of seven riders formed with 129 kilometers to go, including David Lozano of Team Novo Nordisk. They were later joined by another rider.

The breakaway was allowed a maximum advantage of 4 minutes and 25 seconds before being reeled in. A climb at 29 kilometers to go thinned the peloton into a smaller group, from which the stage winner eventually emerged.

A crash inside the final 2 kilometers took Andrea Peron out of contention for a result. The Italian rider was able to complete the stage.

David Lozano:
“With what I had, I think I played it okay. The week before the race I was feeling pretty good—good numbers, good training, good rest. On the first stage, I actually felt strong and dropped the guys off with 3 kilometers to go, which is a good sign for me.

On the second stage, I started feeling stomach cramps, and since then it’s been pretty tough. I’ve had a lot of stomach issues and haven’t been eating or drinking as much as I need to.

Today, I gave what I had, and I’m happy to check off the first breakaway of the season, even if I’m not in the shape I was hoping for. In the end, we have to play with what we have in each moment. Tomorrow is the last stage, so I’ll try to recover well and we’ll see how it goes.”

The race concludes tomorrow with Stage 8 from Çeşme to İzmir—a shorter day at 105.7 kilometers.