Race: Tour d’Azerbaïdjan, Stage 4 Start/Finish: Baku/Baku Distance: 158 kilometers  Baku, Azerbaidjan –  The final stage of the 2016 Tour d’Azerbaïdjan got off to another nervous start, with challenging crosswinds and several teams fighting to make the breakaway. Team Novo Nordisk began the race with a diminished squad, with James Glasspool (AUS) unable to start due to a rib injury suffered earlier in the week, and struggled to put a…

Race: Tour d’Azerbaïdjan, Stage 4 Start/Finish: Gabala/Pirqulu Distance: 115.3k kilometers  Pirqulu, Azerbaidjan – Following a cloudy stage 3, today’s Tour d’Azerbaïdjan queen stage commenced under blue skies. Once again, a breakaway formed in the race’s opening kilometers, today featuring riders Andreas Schillinger (Bora – Argon 18), William Clarke (Drapac Pro Cycling), and Kaspars Sergis (Alpha Baltic-Maratoni). But Sergis was dropped from the group soon after,…

Race: Tour d’Azerbaïdjan, Stage 3 Start/Finish: Gabala/Gabala Distance: 177.2 kilometers  Gabala, Azerbaidjan –  Stage 3 of the Tour d’Azerbaïdjan kicked off under cloudy skies, with a five-man break forming early on, featuring Bernard Sulzberger (Drapac Pro Cycling), Alexey Kurbatov (Gazprom-Rusvelo), Patrik Tybor (Dukla Banska Bystrica), Miles Scotson (Team Illuminate) and Mohd Hariff Saleh (Terengganu Cycling Team). Saleh dropped back from the group after winning the first…

Race: Tour d’Azerbaïdjan, Stage 2 Start/Finish: Baku/Ismayilli Distance: 186.5 kilometers  Ismayilli, Azerbaidjan – Stage two of the 2016 Tour d’Azerbaïdjan featured what might be the toughest profile of the five-day race, with three major climbs throughout the 186.5-km route. “Today’s stage was tough,” said Team Novo Nordisk Sport Director Massimo Podenza. “It was very fast, with a difficult course and lots of crosswind.” Attacks began from the start,…