Race: Tour d’Azerbaïdjan, Stage 1 Start/Finish: Baku/Sumayit Distance: 154 kilometers  Sumayit, Azerbaidjan –  The 2016 Tour d’Azerbaïdjan kicked off with an early breakaway by Mohd Zamri Salleh (Terengganu Cycling Team). Salleh rode solo for the first 70km, eventually gaining a maximum advantage of 8:35, but as the race approached Sumgayit, and its final five circuits, the Malaysian rider was caught and a new breakaway,…

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,…

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 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,…