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Talks about health, buildup to race and says he’s not happy to face questionsHaving picked up a bundle of UCI points for the biggest-ever success of his career, Presidential Tour of Turkey victor Mustafa Sayar said yesterday that he may consider offers to change teams. The points gained in taking the race could make him attractive to other squads, particularly as points and rankings become important heading into 2014. “Now we have new tours that we will prepare for, in Asia and Europe,” he said during the post-race press conference [see video below]. “I don’t have any ideas (thoughts) about a new team, but after the season is completed, maybe we can think about this.” Sayar took the lead with a dominant performance on stage six, breaking clear on the final climb to Selcuk and deposing the then-leader Natnael Berhane (Europcar). The performance saw him ride away from the entire [...]

Won’t elaborate on his pointed tweet about race leaderThe two haven’t really gone head to head in this year’s Tour of Turkey, with crashes, obstructions in the finale and the tough terrain on some stages ensuring that they were never in contention in the final 100 metres of any stage. However yesterday’s victor Marcel Kittel appears to be looking forward to the chance of squaring up against his compatriot Andre Greipel on today’s final stage of the Tour of Turkey. Kittel said in yesterday’s press conference that he thought the two could get to go head to head today. “I think that Andre is also still motivated,” he smiled. “We both have a chance and we will see.” Each have taken two stages apiece in the race, with Kittel triumphing on days one and seven and Greipel coming out best on stages four and five. While the Lotto Belisol rider [...]

Belgian rider says Mustafa Sayar ‘killed’ him. Astana rider Kevin Seeldraeyers had hoped for a strong performance on yesterday’s sixth stage of the Presidential Tour of Turkey, starting the day just ten seconds behind the race leader Natnael Berhane (Europcar). He had finished six seconds behind Berhane on the summit finish which concluded stage three and was determined to push for the turquoise jersey of race leader. However things didn’t go to plan, with Berhane saying after the stage that he had gone into the red and suffered as a result. “The start was very fast. Then it was quite easy but the end was also really fast. I think I exploded myself on the climb by following the Turkish guy. “He killed me. At the beginning of the climb it would have been better if I was in 20th or 15th position on the climb and done my own [...]

Says he had worked for six months to be ready for race, has nothing to say to questions in peloton He finished third from last in 2012, one hour 41 minutes and 34 seconds behind his former Torku team-mate Ivailo Gabrovski, but Mustafa Sayar has shrugged off questions about his domination of this year’s race and said questions relating to Gabrovski are not relevant to him. Twelve months ago Continental level rider Gabrovski was head and shoulders above the rest of the field, but subsequently tested positive for EPO. Asked about that yesterday and what he would say to reassure those with concerns, Sayar implied that Gabrovski had taken risks. “Cycling is a very difficult sport and every cyclist sometimes has these kind of difficulties in their careers,” he said at the post-race press conference, as shown below. “Gabrovsky was a very good sportsman, but he was too ambitious in [...]

German rider in good shape in Tour of TurkeyArgos Shimano leader Marcel Kittel didn’t figure on today’s finish of the Presidential Tour of Turkey due to the tough climb to the finish line, but the German rider sees two more opportunities to add to his victory total before the race ends on Sunday. Kittel sprinted to success on the opening stage of the race. Since then the lumpy terrain and aggressive racing has foiled his chances of going for another win, and he was also involved in a big pileup four days ago. Fortunately he was not badly hurt then. “I feel good. I like the Tour of Turkey and with the win it makes it even better. I enjoy every stage,” he told VeloNation in a video interview yesterday. “I think I had a good start to the season. So far I have got four victories – I think [...]

Italian sprinter chasing stage win in Presidential Tour of Turkey Although he won a stage last year, beating Mark Cavendish and the other top sprinters to snag stage eighteen, Andrea Guardini has confirmed that he won’t ride this year’s Giro d’Italia. Instead, the young Italian is hoping to gain selection for what would be his first Tour de France, although that will depend on him showing good form in the run-up to the event. Guardini moved to the Astana team after two years with the Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli setup. Graduating to the WorldTour is a plus for his career, but it does also mean that the competition for places on the roster for races such as the Giro is more evident. “I don’t make the Giro this year because all the team correctly will work for Vincenzo Nibali for general classification,” he told VeloNation in a video interview yesterday. “For [...]