Video: Philip Deignan on track for good Tour of California
Irishman shows form with strong ride on stage six of Tour of TurkeyAlthough his group didn’t stay clear until the finish, Irishman Philip Deignan has taken encouragement from his performance on Friday’s sixth leg of the Presidential Tour of Turkey. The UnitedHealthcare Maxxis rider made it into an initial break of twenty riders then, shortly before the Turkish Beauties sprint at the Temple of Apollo in Didim, he pushed on ahead with Maxim Belkov (Katusha) and Michal Golas (Omega Pharma-Quick Step). “Just when we were being brought back, I went away with two other guys,” he told VeloNation in a video interview conducted shortly after the finish. “It was still over 100 kilometres to go and really, really strong headwind and a straight road. To be honest I thought we were wasting our time.” However the trio stayed out from for almost all of the remainder of the stage, building [...]
Video: Goss clear about significance of new GreenEdge title sponsor
Australian talks about near-misses in Presidential Tour of Turkey GreenEdge sprinter Matt Goss has hailed the acquisition of a new sponsor, saying that the development is something which will help guarantee the future of the team. The points classification jersey wearer was speaking to VeloNation prior to the start of stage six of the Presidential Tour of Turkey, and said that he was yet to be told who the newly-confirmed backer would be. Team-mate Brett Lancaster also insisted he didn’t know the identity of the company in question. The GreenEdge team announced Friday morning that a new title sponsor had been secured and would be announced on Tuesday. “It is really good. We only know as much as everyone else at the moment so we will wait till Tuesday and find out who the new sponsor is,” Goss said in the video interview below. “But it is really exciting, it [...]
Robbie McEwen Video Interview: What retirement means to me
Frank thoughts on the end of a career It’s been a long, very successful career which has earned him some of the top prizes in the sport such as three Tour de France green jerseys, plus a dozen stages in both the Giro and the Tour.However, despite the massive change it will make to his life to stop, Robbie McEwen has said that he’s convinced that it’s the right time for him to go. The current Presidential Tour of Turkey and the upcoming Tour of California are the only races left ahead of him.No regrets, no second thoughts. McEwen admits that calling it quits will be peculiar at first, but he feels the push towards a new role is greater than the pull of his past life.“I think it is the right time. It is something I thought long and hard about,” he told VeloNation in a very frank video [...]
Di Corrado counting Tour of Turkey win will secure Giro d’Italia debut
Video of stage 5 finish and podiumHaving come to the race hoping to clock up a good performance and thus secure himself a place on the Colnago CSF Inox team for the Giro d’Italia, Andrea Di Corrado potentially did enough today to book himself a ticket to the Italian Grand Tour. The neo-pro raced to his first pro victory on stage five of the Presidential Tour of Turkey, timing things perfectly in the finale, attacking five breakaway companions with ten kilometres to go and soloing in 40 seconds ahead of the first of the chasers, Jonas Jorgensen (Team Saxo Bank) and Jérôme Cousin (Team Europcar). The main bunch was almost a minute and a half behind, giving him time to soak up the applause and savour what he had done before his team-mates arrived. Once there, there were backslaps and bearhugs, the squad enjoying taking on and beating the bigger [...]
Video Interview: With an eye to the Giro, Hansen performing strongly in Turkey
Australian speaks about race thus far, working with Greipel and Giro focusWith the Giro d’Italia now just nine days away, races like the Presidential Tour of Turkey offer solid glimpses of the riders who are coming into form and who could be a factor in the Italian Grand Tour. On the basis of yesterday’s tough stage, the Australian Adam Hansen is on track to have a good race, with a stage win in Italy being his objective. He showed strong condition when he placed thirteenth on stage three’s 1850 metre-high climb at Elmali. Being a bigger rider than most ahead and quite a few behind him, the performance was an encouraging one for him, particularly as this is his first race back after a long break from racing. “I have got the Giro coming up so it is good to come here and give it a go,” the affable rider [...]
Video: Guardini wants stage win in Turkey, satisfied with form before Giro
Frustrating early stages for Italian, but more chances aheadA rider tipped by some to be the next major Italian sprinter, Andrea Guardini feels he is in good shape heading towards his first Giro d’Italia. His aim is to pick up at least one stage win this week in the Presidential Tour of Turkey, having clocked up two last year, and he has pinpointed the days of opportunity for him and his team. Guardini knows that a victory would give him a good psychological edge heading into his first Grand Tour, as well as showing his Farnese Vini Selle Italia team that it can compete against the bigger-name WorldTour squads. This far the race hasn’t been as good as it could have been for the 22 year old. He was out of the placings in the sprint finishes, although there were reasons for that. “The first stage I was involved in [...]