Ridolfo goes on the attack in opening stage at Tour of Turkey

The Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey got off to a fast start over the 134.7km stage that started and finished in Antalya. Filippo Ridolfo made sure the world’s first all-diabetes team was well represented in the race when he slipped into the day’s seven-rider breakaway.

The Italian picked up a bonus second after finishing third in the first sprint and finished the stage in the peloton, placing him fifth in the overall standings after the opening day’s proceedings.

General Manager, Vassili Davidenko

“We wanted to get someone in the breakaway. Filippo’s job particularly was to go in the break because last year he showed he’s quite fast and has quickly become skilled at reading the right moves. We were also focused on preparing the sprints for Andrea and Matyas as we knew this was likely to come down to a bunch sprint.”

“Both riders have enjoyed good results this season. We knew the World Tour teams would control the sprint and keep the pace high and we were quite organised inside the last 10 kilometers until some crashes in the peloton derailed us but luckily all of our guys finished safely and now it’s time to recover for the next day.”

Filippo Ridolfo:

“We were well represented in the front after the start was given. There were so many attacks and I was trying to be smart and not follow all of them. I followed three or four and managed to get into the right one. There were seven of us and we were collaborating quite well.”

“In the first sprint, I managed to get third and a bonus second. Up the climb the break started pulling hard and I didn’t have super legs. I also knew on this stage the break wouldn’t make it to the finish so I didn’t want to go too deep because there are seven days left to race. When I saw we didn’t get a big gap I was trying to save energy. This is the first breakaway of the year for me so it’s good to get back into the rhythm of racing and show the team colours off in the front.”

Photos: Yücel Çakiroğlu