Team Polti Kometa on the podium in Turkey, Double 3rd in the queen stage

During the weekend at the Tour of Turkey, it won’t only be Giovanni Lonardi’s green jersey to defend, but also Paul Double’s third position on the general podium, thanks to the third place in the queen stage with the formidable finish in Manisa.

Team Polti Kometa started with a specific mission and accomplished it: avoiding breakaways to allow Lonardi to contest the intermediate sprint at km 36 and increase his lead to 5 points over Andresen in the respective classification. Then, a group of five riders broke away, and it took the tremendous effort of Polti Kometa together with Astana to reel them in amidst the decisive Spil Dagi climb.

Positioned splendidly by captain Maestri and teammates, Paul then patiently waited as attacks and counterattacks alternated at the front of the group. Riding at his own excellent pace, the English climber survived every selection and found himself at the head of a trio in the last kilometer. On the flat run-in to the finish line, Van den Broek and Kudus sprinted ahead and left him with third place: he now sits 9 seconds behind the leader.

Giovanni Ellena‘s comment: “Our rider’s form is fantastic, and if it had been a pure uphill finish, he might have won. However, we are extremely satisfied with how both he and the team are racing!”

Confirming the words of the sports director is Double himself: “On paper, it was the right stage for me to win and I wanted it badly. However, to achieve that, I would have needed to stay alone in the finale. Still, by pulling, I prevented any chasers from coming back, and against two riders faster than me I achieved the best possible result. So I can only be happy with my performance and the team’s today and throughout the entire week.”

Tomorrow the penultimate stage, for sprinters, in Smyrna.