Greipel Wins Second Stage In Turkey

Last updated : 23 April 2012 By Kev Monks

Andrei Greipel today won the second stage of the 48th Presidental Tour Of Turkey but a second for Matt Goss saw him take the leaders jersey.

The race started without the riders injured in yesterday’s crashes: Turkish Beauty jersey holder Frederique Robert (LTB) and SpiderTech’s Guillaume Boivin and Kevin Lacombe.

The pace was high from the start and the race rather jittery with several unsuccessful attempts. It took 48 kilometres for the first real break to take shape at the initiative of Alexandre Vinokourov (AST). The Kazakh went with Laurent Pichon (BSC), Paolo Locatelli (COL), Laszlo Bodrogi (TT1) and Matteo Fedi (UDA). 

The five reached the first sprint of the day, won by Vinokourov (km 54), with a 2:38 lead over the main bunch. The maximum gap of five minutes was reached at the Turkish Beauty sprint of the day in Aspendos (Km 94), won by Bodrogi, who took over the classification’s jersey.  

From then on the peloton launched a merciless chase and finally reined in the five escapees with five kilometres to go. 

The stage was again set for a bunch sprint. While Rabobank were the first in command under the red flame, hoping for a repeat of yesterday’s win by Theo Bos, they were quickly overtaken. And Greenedge seldom had the time to get organised as Greipel surged to go a gear higher than everybody else.

Andre Greipel who rides for Lotto, went with a sprint some 200 metres from the finsh line at the end of the second stage and he finished ahead of Matt Goss and Italy’s Mateo Pelucchi who rewarded his Europcar team-mates for a great effort in curbing the day’s break by finishing third.