Presidential Tour of Turkey: Bos bosses Goss and Colli in Alanya sprint

Avoiding a nasty crash inside the final two kilometres which brought some riders down and delayed others, Theo Bos (Rabobank) came from behind to pip GreenEdge’s Matt Goss on the line on day one of the Presidential Tour of Turkey.

The former world track sprint champion played things perfectly, biding his time when Goss jumped, then overtaking him when the Australian tired into a slight headwind.

Goss hung on for second, while the Italian Team Type 1 rider Daniele Colli was third.

Bos took the first turquoise leader’s jersey as a result, and later credited his team-mates Graeme Brown and Matt Renshaw for doing much in the closing moments to ensure his win.

“It was not a hard race today, which made the finale even harder. We focused with the team on the lead-out,” he said in the post race press conference. “Everything worked out well in the last lap but we hoped to have more men after the corner.

“It was difficult with only two riders, Mark Renshaw and Graeme Brown in front of me. Graeme did a really good job to help Mark and myself. Then Mark took me very far as well. A Greenedge rider went and I could not take the wheel because Matt Goss was there. I kept sprinting thinking maybe I can finish second. But I had a good jump at the finish line.”

Speaking to VeloNation in a video interview before the race, Renshaw had said that he and Bos would both get opportunities as protected riders for sprints. Stage one ended up being Bos’ turn, as the Dutchman explained afterwards.

“Today we decided it was a good race for me, with no big climbs or anything. It was a good chance to work the sprint out for me. Mark will also have his chance and we’ll try a 100 percent for him.”

Breakaway octet gets a big gap:

Early on, a break of eight riders went clear. It was sparked off right after the drop of the flag when Will Routley (SpiderTech), Adrian Hegevary (United Health Care) and Adrian Kurek (UNA) rode aggressively and opened a gap. Five others bridged acros very soon afterwards, namely Albert Timmer (Argos Shimano), Maxim Belkov (Katusha), Frederique Robert (LTB), Javier Ramirez (ACG) and Gabor Kasa (SLC).

The peloton was visibly taking things easy on the first two of the eight laps of the 16.9 kilometre Alanya circuit, with the riders chatting between themselves and looking unhurried. It was very different in the break, with the octet up the road working hard to build a lead of eight minutes 25 seconds after 38 kilometres of racing.

However that was also the turning point, with the peloton accelerating and knuckling down to the pursuit. The Farnese Vini Selle Italia team of Andrea Guardini was one of the first to start, and did a lot of work as the stage progressed. So took the Omega Pharma Quick Step team, which combined with the Italian team to reel in lone chaser Adrian Kurek (Utensilnord Named) and to further reduce the advantage of the break. Out front, Ramirez won the first intermediate sprint (km 50.7), while Robert took the Turkish Beauties sprint ahead of Belkov at kilometre 84.5.

Ramirez and Hegevary realized the game was nearly up and attacked together. Their chances got a boost when a big crash took down several riders, including the 2011 race victor Alexander Efimkin (Team Type 1). He and the other riders would however manage to get back up to the peloton.

Having gained slightly due to the distractions of the crash, Ramirez and Hegevary fought gamely onwards. However with two laps left, their lead was only very slightly above half a minute and things were looking bleak. They were finally hauled back 22 kilometers out.

The sprinters’ teams continued to ride hard to keep things together and to battle for position. Guardini’s Farnese Vini Selle Italia team had done a lot and appeared to burn itself out, with other teams coming through inside the final kilometres.

Mixed reactions:

Goss’ GreenEdge team rode strongly in the finale to set him up and, had there not been a headwind, he might have held on after jumping hard.

“When I crossed the line, I had no idea who was coming on my left and whether I had won or not,” he said. “It was pretty close between Theo Bos and me. I’m still happy. On such a fast circuit you really spend a lot of energy.

“It’s the first time I found myself led out by the whole Greenedge team. They made a terrific job and stayed cool all the way. I would have loved to finish the job in style, but it’s still a very good result.”

If Goss was expected on the podium, Colli was a surprise. He’s fast, but there’s others in the race who are regarded as more likely to battle for sprint wins. That’s a good reflection on his performance today, as it showed he is now at a level where he can battle some of the world’s best sprinters for stage victories.

“I’m doing pretty well since the start of the season and on all terrains,” he said. “I’m not a fast rider like Goss and Bos and I’m really proud to be with them on the podium. The finale was tricky. With 50 metres to go I even believed I could win, but I was 30 metres short.”

He seemed relatively satisfied with the outcome, but another who was on the podium wasn’t. Robert ended up with the white jersey as leaders of the Turkish Beauties sprint classification, but was convinced those in the break could have got more.

“There was a lot of wind and in the break, several riders were going very slowly. It was stupid because we had taken a seven minutes lead in a few kilometres,” he said. “I don’t know why they did it. If everybody had worked together, the remainder of the stage could have gone differently.

“I wanted to win the intermediate sprint to take a jersey. Unfortunately, I crashed after two laps and my wrist hurts. I hope it’s not broken and I can start again tomorrow.”