Tour of Turkey raises the level and calls for sprinters
A Tour of Turkey in which Team Polti Kometa shone with its own light in the last edition is back on the calendar. Giovanni Lonardi’s speed allowed the team to take two podiums and several top-10 finishes against great sprinters, an objective that he will try to repeat and improve, with the hope of winning a stage victory.
And with the same attitude, the focus will be on the chances of a mass finish, which could be as many as six, depending on how the race develops. Demanding routes for a Tour of Turkey that will start in Antalya and finish in Istanbul. Undoubtedly, the queen stage will be the sixth day with 160 kilometres and the high finish in Spil Dagi (Manisa), for which the team is also prepared.
The line-up will look for those opportunities for sprinters with the reference of Giovanni Lonardi and also the support of Manuel Peñalver. Alongside them, some luxury guides for protection during the stage, positioning in the final part and the launch in order to look for their chances in the sprint: the road captain Mirco Maestri, the Hungarian Erik Fetter and the Italian Andrea Pietrobon will fulfil that mission, without losing sight of their own options. Like them, Diego Sevilla will try to make a contribution to the bunch as well as to be seen in the breakaways in Turkey, as well as to help the general classification trump card Paul Double. The British, a pure climber, will have a good chance on the day that will decide the overall winner of the race, with the climb of more than 20 kilometres to Spil Dagi.
Giovanni Lonardi: “Last year we did well in Turkey, let’s say it’s a race that suits my characteristics and I hope to take advantage of it. It was a nice way to finish the season in 2023, this year we started well and now I’m in good shape after some rest. We will try to achieve good results, there are several stages where I think I can be fighting for the victory, we will give everything and I’m sure we will be successful”.
Giovanni Ellena, sport director: “The Tour of Turkey raises the level to 2.PRO category. This is always going to make the line-up level higher and we are aware of this with riders that are up to the objectives. We will focus on the sprint stages with Lonardi and Peñalver, with many opportunities. Although for the sixth stage, which will decide the overall, we will undoubtedly have a Paul Double who has shown himself to be strong in the mountains and has an ideal stage for his qualities in Manisa”.
