Videos

Australian starts the ball rolling with RabobankWinning the stage by an estimated 0.0003 of a second, Matt Renshaw’s perfectly-timed lunge saw him hold off compatriot Matt Goss and scoop what was his first victory this season. The seaside town of Marmaris, boardering the Gulf of Gökova, also was also the location for a first triumph whilst wearing the distinctive orange colours of his new Rabobank team. It was, as he told VeloNation after stage 4 of the Presidential Tour of Turkey, something which took pressure off him. “I’m very happy to get the first win of the year,” he said, standing outside medical control and in front of a stunning brightwater bay. “I’ve been chasing all year, through the Tour Down Under, the Tour of Qatar and Paris-Nice, so I’m very relieved to finally get it here in the Tour of Turkey.” Renshaw’s triumph was down to him beating Goss, [...]

Australian gives his thoughts on team’s successful start to first seasonGreenEdge sporting director Neil Stephens appears upbeat about the chances of the team securing a title sponsor, saying that the strong start to its debut year has generated a lot of attention and helped open up possibilities. “There is always a lot of interest. The dynamics around the team has been interesting right from the start,” he told VeloNation in a video interview at the Presidential Tour of Turkey. “The success has brought a lot of other interest. It is a matter of getting the right mix, of what company would fit in with our field. “I think there is a lot of interest there…things are starting to happen.” In contrast to squads such as Sky Procycling and Leopard Trek, which took several months to settle in before the wins started to build up, the GreenEdge team has clicked right [...]

Former Tour de France leader speaks about Colombia Coldeportes projectWatch out for the Colombians. That’s the general feeling at the Presidential Tour of Turkey, with the riders waking up today to bright sun and the prospect of the toughest, most mountainous stage of the race. The peloton will cover 152 tough kilometres from Antalya to Elmali, a 1850-metre high summit finish, with the final climb certain to blow things apart and completely reshuffle a general classification currently topped by GreenEdge sprinter Matt Goss. According to Victor Hugo Peña, former Tour de France race leader and the most experienced of the riders on the new Colombia Coldeportes squad, the team has more than one option to attack on the twenty kilometre ascent to the line. “We have three riders – Chavez, Duarte and Suarez. They are good climbers,” he told VeloNation in a video interview carried out at the teams’ presentation [...]

Irish pro hoping for good legs after recent illnessHe’s been spoken of by some as one to watch today, but Philip Deignan has said that he will take a wait-and-see approach to the the big mountain stage in this year’s Presidential Tour of Turkey. If he’s in good condition, the 2009 Vuelta a Espana stage winner could do something noteworthy on the final climb to the 1850 metre high Elmali, described as the Turkish Alpe d’Huez due to its almost identical height. However, speaking just before the start of the race, Deignan admitted that he wasn’t sure what to expect. “The form has been gradually improving since the start of the season,” he told VeloNation in a video interview just after the team presentation on Saturday. “I was down last week with a stomach virus, it wiped me out for a week, so I am still gradually building back from [...]

German going well on return from racing breakLotto Belisol sprinter Andre Greipel showed his sprinting power today, beginning the second part of his season by scooping up a stage win in the Presidential Tour of Turkey. The win was his sixth of 2012, but his first after taking a break from competition. He’s recharged his batteries and is ready for a big push towards what he plans to be a successful Tour de France campaign. “I’m here to start my preparation for the Tour de France,” he said at the post-stage press conference in Antalya. “I am quite lucky – after Roubaix I had eight, nine days off the bike. I started racing here again, and I could win directly [straight away] the second stage. So I am quite happy with this.” The win ahead of new race leader Matt Goss (GreenEdge), Matteo Pellucchi (Europcar), Mark Renshaw (Rabobank) and the [...]

Dutch sprinter wants to look forward, not backGiven the events which occurred in Alanya three years ago and their after-effects, it’s perhaps surprising that Theo Bos didn’t remember the name of the seaside town where yesterday’s opening stage of the Presidential Tour of Turkey finished. In the 2009 edition of the race Bos was involved in a crash with race leader Daryl Impey. The UCI later ruled that he was at fault, having pulled Impey’s jersey and caused the incident, and handed him a one month ban from racing. Three years on, Bos was first to the line in the same place. However he didn’t make the connection until after he beat Matt Goss (GreenEdge), Daniele Colli (Team Type 1 – Sanofi) and the rest of a crash-fragmented peloton in the sprint. “I didn’t know [it was the same place], I just found out,” he said, in response to a [...]