The opening stage of the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey culminated in a fast finish with Andrea Peron contesting the bunch sprint. The 36-year-old continued his fine race form from Ronde van Limburg two weeks ago, where he placed 12th by finishing tenth today.

Filippo Ridolfo formed part of the day’s early escape, giving Team Novo Nordisk great visibility throughout the day. The team’s objective was to send someone on the attack and contest the sprint, and both were achieved.  

“The plan was to go to Matyas today, but he has been suffering from illness so if he didn’t feel good then I needed to go for the sprint,” Peron said. 

“I lost position before the last corner because I didn’t want to risk a crash as is very likely in my experience, so after that I needed to make up positions to get back to the front. It’s great to know the legs are still there but at my age now it’s weighing up risks, which I try to limit. Let’s see what we get in the next few days.”

Ridolfo explained that while Peron and Matyas Kopecky were protected riders, it was up to the rest of the team to force a move early in the stage. “The breakthrough formed quite early on with one of the first attacks of the day. That was not too hard. I tried to take seconds in the intermediate sprints but I messed it up unforutnately and got fourth in them but that’s racing. Then I kept rolling and was one of two guys to be caught with 15km to go. A breakaway and top 10 is a great way for us to start this race so it all worked out.“

Stage 2 will see the first bit of climbing introduced to the race from Kemer to Kalkan over 167.4km.

Stage 2 of the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey finished with an uplhill sprint in Kalkan. Approximately half the peloton made it to the finish to contest the sprint, with Matyas Kopecky leading Team Novo Nordisk home in 41st.

The 22-year-old is recovering from illness and was seen paying close attention to the front of the peloton, always in the front ten in the final 15 kilometers. 

A breakaway of five riders spent a large portion of the day out front and were given a maximum gap of just over 2 minutes. The 167 kilometer stage from Kemer to Kalkan saw the first climbs of the day. 

“I was happy to be in the front but disappointed that I couldn’t contest the sprint. I had high hopes paying close attention to the moves in the final but when the road kicked up, I just didn’t have what it took to today,” Kopecky said. 

“Yesterday the race started well for us with Andrea getting a top 10 and Filippo in the breakaway and I think there will be many more opportunities for us to come this week.”

Stage 3 is from Fetiye to Marmaris over 175.9km with another sprint finish expected. 

Stage 3 of the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey marked a season-best performance for Filippo Ridolfo, as the young Italian sprinted to an impressive 10th place. Earlier in the race, Ridolfo was the driving force behind the breakaway on stage 1 and was only caught with 15km to go – an early sign of strong form.

Today, the 23-year-old showed remarkable grit and determination, surviving a series of short, steep climbs and relentless attacks in the final to contest the sprint from a heavily reduced peloton.

A seven-rider breakaway formed early in the stage, and although Filippo initially aimed to be part of it, he quickly adapted when he missed the move.

Filippo Ridolfo:

“It was a really good day. The plan was for me to get into the breakaway, but the start was tough and the move went on a small climb where I just couldn’t hold on. I switched the plan to support Matyas and Andrea, but the first part of the race stayed fairly straightforward until about 60km to go, when the road began to rise with some very steep climbs.

The steepest was around 40km from the finish. At the top, Matyas, Alessandro and I lost contact with the front group, but thankfully we managed to regroup on the descent. I checked in with Matyas to see how he was feeling, and when he said he wasn’t great, we both focused on surviving and seeing who could stay with the leaders.

I was right on the limit, but Matyas shouted over the radio for me to go for it. I gave everything I had to hang on and contest the sprint. I didn’t have the best legs, but getting a top 10 for the team means a lot- I’m really happy with that.”