Modolo Takes Another Tour Of Turkey Stage Win

Last updated : 30 April 2016 By TOTPO

Sacha Modolo (Lampre - Merida) has won stage 7, the Vestel Fethiye - Marmaris Stage, of the 52nd Presidential Tour of Turkey. 

In the final bunch sprint, Modolo outsprinted Manuel Belletti (Southeas- Venezuela), who took second place and the overnight lead in the Salcano Green Jersey sprints competition.


( Photo credit: Tour of Turkey/Brian Hodes)

Stage 7 result
1. Sacha Modolo (Lampre - Merida), 128.6 km in 3h15'14", ave. 39.52km/h
2. Manuel Belletti (Southeast - Venezuela) in s.t.
3. Marco Zanotti (Parkhotel Valkenburg Continental) in s.t.

GC standings post-Stage 7
1. José Gonçalves (Caja Rural – Seguros RGA)
2. David Arroyo (Caja Rural – Seguros RGA) @ 18" 
3. Nikita Stalnov (Astana City) at 46"


Left to right: Belletti, Modolo, Zanotti.
(Click through for Hi Res. Photo credit: Tour of Turkey/Brian Hodes)


The Jerseys
SporToto Turquoise Jersey (Race leader): José Gonçalves (Caja Rural – Seguros RGA) 
Turkish Airlines Red Jersey (Mountains): Przemysław Niemiec (Lampre – Merida)
Vestel White Jersey (Beauties of Turkey Sprints): Lluís Mas (Caja Rural – Seguros RGA)
Salcano Green Jersey (Sprints): Manuel Belletti (Southeast - Venezuela) 

RIDER COMMENTS:
Stage winner Sacha Modolo (Lampre – Merida):
“Today was perfect. The other day was perfect too, although the finish today probably suited me even better. A climb, a descent, a sprint: exactly what makes me a winner. It was not only me today by the whole team that made me a winner. Ferrari led me out in the sprint. We had a lot of bad luck in March and April. We all crashed in Milan Sanremo, but now it looks like luck is back on our side. Just before the Giro is a good time to come good. We knew the Tour of Turkey was a good way to prepare for the Giro from last year. I did the Tour of Turkey and then we went all well: with Ferrari and Richeze, we had a very good Giro. The only problem is, this year, I'll have only one day at home between Turkey and the Giro, and it takes a lot of flights to get to Istanbul and then to Cappadocia. We have two more flights tomorrow, then there's the flight to Holland, then from Holland to Italy. It makes for a lot of travelling. I suppose that I can rest after the Giro. I've been coming here for six years, since 2010, and I sincerely like the race. This year there were some doubts, with the change of organisation, but it has gone all well. You can't tell the difference between one year and the next. There has been more stress in the bunch because of the hard stage on Day Two, which we were not used to, and the wind and rain on stage 3. But it has been a beautiful Giro d'Italia. My confidence is sky high, I don't feel inferior to [Greipel, Kittel or Ewan) as a sprinter, but as a team we are not at their level. I'll only have Ferrari to lead me out, so we'll have to try to do what we can. We've lost Richeze, who was important. On the very flat stages it will be difficult, but the Giro isn't easy, with long and nervous stages, so perhaps I can do something on thje more demanding stages. 

SporToto Turquoise Jersey (Race leader): José Gonçalves (Caja Rural – Seguros RGA)  “It was a short stage, one in which we tried to minimise our energy expenditure for tomorrow, which will be long and hard. I am very confident and motivated and so is the team. Tomorrow is a long stage and you never know how it's going to go. There is no plan at this stage. It is the final day, and we'll try and leave it all out on the road. If I can get through tomorrow and win the Tour of Turkey, it will be the first international stage race win of my career and I'll be very, very happy. We all knew that Pello Bilbao was ill today. It was better for him to abandon than to continue if he can't contribute, and to worsen his condition. We wouldn't want that. He did what he could at the front, then he stepped off. Tomorrow, we have other riders, a good team, and hopefully his absence will not be decisive.”

Second placed Manuel Belletti (Southeast): “We took the responsibility of the chase behind the Lotto-Soudal rider [Greg Henderson] who was away before the sprint. Because of doing this, only two team-mates remained to lead me out and Liam Bertazzo has had to make an effort too early, at 500 metres to go. After that, the speed has slowed down a bit and I’ve been caught by surprise by the two Lampre riders and my chain dropped. I’m disappointed to have lost the stage. I wanted to win here in Marmaris for the second time. It’s a beautiful place. But that’s life.”

Third placed Marco Zanotti (Parkhotel Valkenburg): “Modolo and Belletti are stronger than me! All I could do was to finish third or fourth, so I followed them. Like every we’ve had someone from the team in the breakaway [Bram Nolten] for being seen on tv. Everyone in this team is strong. My team-mates also protected me from the strong head wind in the final climb so I could sprint and get this podium place that pleases me again.”

Vestel White Jersey (Beauties of Turkey Sprints): Lluís Mas (Caja Rural – Seguros RGA): “Last year I attacked towards the top of the last climb before the downhill to Marmaris. I remembered it was a great feeling so I tried again 1km before the summit with the idea of going for the stage win after the other tasks of the day were already completed. We had delivered José Gonçalves to the final part of the stage with no worries. I hadn’t focused on the defending my lead in the Beauties of Turkey today but I will tomorrow. I have two riders to watch: Pawel Cieslik who scored three points today and is now second to me in the classification and Peter Schulting who has six points. I won’t let them go!”

Turkish Airlines Red Jersey (Mountains): Przemysław Niemiec (Lampre – Merida): “Before the start of the stage, we decided that we’d ride the final climb flat out to avoid any kind of attack. Unfortunately there was a head wind and it was very hard to climb. I also told the team that I’d put myself at the service of Sacha [Modolo] to thank him for the work he did for me yesterday. He brilliantly won the stage today. I’m very happy for him and the team. The Tour of Turkey is a beautiful preparation for the Giro. We race in the heat, the roads are nice and wide. There are flat stages, there are hills as well, there’s everything here you need to gear up for a Grand Tour and I hope we’ll continue to enjoy success at the Giro as much as in Turkey.”

( Photo credit: Tour of Turkey/Brian Hodes)

How it happened
The peloton, 99 strong, rolled out at 10.30 a.m. in Fethiye, ancient Telmessos beneath the fortress built by the Knights of Rhodes, looking out at Gemiler Island, the site of the original tomb of Saint Nicholas. Today's non-starters were 8 Xu Gang and (LAM) 118 Maxim Satlikov (TSE). 

Km 0 was passed at 10.40 a.m. Attacks from the flag. A very nervous, fast start with continuous attacks and reactions. It takes 18 km the breakaway formation phase lasted 20.5 km: TRK< HAC and PVC were very active among the attempts at breakaway formation. 143 Feritcan Samli (TRK)  attacked alone at one point, At another point, Lluís Mas (Caja Rural – Seguros RGA), Eduard Michael Grosu (Nippo – Vini Fantini), Nazim Bakırcı (Torku Şekerspor), and Enrico Salvador (Unieuro Wilier) had a small advantage. 

Soon afterwards, 136 Peter Schulting (PVC) attacked alone. Then Mateusz Taciak (CCC), Fredrik Galta (DMP) and Hnik Karel (VAT) took the lead. At km 18, the pace relented momentarily, allowing 6 riders to attack. But Mateusz Taciak (CCC), David Belda (ROT), Galym Akhmetov (TSE), Florian Gaugl (HAC), Massimo Graziato (PVC) and Ahmet Akdilek (TRK) were then reabsorbed by the main group. 

At km 20.5, as the race entered Göcek, where legend has it that Icarus fell into the sea after flying too close to the sun on wings made of feathers and wax (a scene depicted in the famous painting by Breugel, ‘the Fall of Icarus’, and sung of by Joni Mitchell in her song Amelia: “Like Icarus ascending on beautiful, foolish arms…’), the peloton was all together. Perhaps inspired by one of the most beautiful of the ancient myths, 6 riders then attempted to break away. They were:

35 Leszek Plucinski (CCC)
82 David Belda (ROT)
96 Paweł Cieślik (VAT), 3rd in yesterday's stage and with 5 points in the Beauties of Turkey competition. 
123 Florian Gaugl (HAC)
134 Bram Nolten (PVC)

151 Marco Molteni (UNI) made the breakaway but was dropped.

The five quickly built a significant lead. By the Cat. 3 climb at km 32.9, they led the main group by 4'20”.

GPM: km 32.9 (Cat 3):
3. (3 pts) 96 Paweł Cieślik (VAT)
2. (2 pts) 35 Leszek Plucinski (CCC)
1. (1 pt) 123 Florian Gaugl (HAC)

36km completed in the first hour of racing. 

At km 48.3, the peloton sped past the town of Dalyan, the site of İztuzu Beach, a breeding ground for the endangered loggerhead sea turtle. a protected area since 1988. At km 50, the five led by 2'58”.

At the Intermediate sprint (km 72), their lead had dropped slightly to 2'40”.

Pello Bilbao (CJR), the winner of Stage 2 and, it seemed, the certain winner of this year's event, abandoned with 39.8 km to go. 

The breakaway was reabsorbed by the main group just inside the final 15 km.

With 7.3 km to go, Lluís Mas (CJR) launched a tyupical attack on the downhill, taking two riders with him. With 5.2 km to go, Greg Henderson gave chase, and overtook the Mas group.  He was finally cuahgt with 900m to go. 

In the final sprint, Modolo (LAM) finished ahead of Belletti (STH) and Zanotti (PVC).

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