Italian sprinter profits after late attack from teammate Enrico Battaglin; second place number four for Matt Goss
Sacha Modolo (Colnago-CSF Inox) took the second victory in two days for the Italian Pro Continental team, as he outsprinted the peloton at the end of stage six between Bodrum and Kusadasi. The Italian profited from a fast lead out from the GreenEdge and Rabobank teams, as they chased down a late attack from his Colnago-CSF Inox teammate Enrico Battaglin, then launched his sprint late and crossed the line well clear.
Modolo’s sprint condemned points competition leader Matt Goss (GreenEdge) to a fourth second place finish of the race so far, with ANZAC day winner Mark Renshaw (Rabobank) in third.
“It was about time to clinch the first win of the season,” Modolo said, talking about opening up his palmares. “Personally, I came here to do well and to win. I didn’t come to prepare for the Giro.
“I’ve been coming to Turkey for the past three years and I’ve seen the race grow and improve. It has all the qualities to become a World Tour race. It’s well organised and the accommodation is almost too good! I always come here to win.”
Goss told VeloNation prior to the start that he and the team were determined to keep trying to get him his own first win of the year. As was the case on stages one, two, four and six, he was beaten to the line by another rider.
The disappointment was clear after the finish, but he had recovered somewhat by the time the podium presentation took place.
“It was a hard day. I was in the front all day, except in the group of fifteen that went away,” he said. “We had a good run down the final hill but Modolo did a very good sprint! I’m not close to the win today.”
The sprint finish came after a day dominated by constant attacks, which began with a twenty-strong group escaping after the first 50 kilometres. From this group three riders pushed forward, namely Maxim Belkov (Katusha), Michal Golas (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) and Philip Deignan (UnitedHealthcare), and rode very strongly together to resist the chase from behind for much of the remainder of the stage.
The trio was however overhauled with eight kilometres to go, paving the way for a big gallop and Modolo’s win.
Goss’ fellow Australian Mark Renshaw had been determined to pick up his second win of the race but was frustrated by a tactical mistake in the final kilometre.
“I was hoping for Matt Goss to go early but we were forced to go from far out,” he said. “A team-mate heard “left” instead of “right” and it opened the door for these guys [Goss and Modolo], so the sprint was over before we started.”
Aggressive racing throughout the stage:
A total of 178 riders lined out for the stage, but very soon after the start in Bodrum this number dropped by two when Leonardo Giordani (Farnese Vini Selle Italia) and Assan Bazayev (Astana) crashed out.
A lot of hard racing followed, with echelons splitting the bunch for some time prior to things settling down again. The day’s second category climb came 54 kilometres after the start and was won by Fabio Duarte (Colombia Coldeportes), who beat Marco Bandiera (Omega Pharma Quick Step). The points picked up by the latter saw him inherit the lead in the mountains classification from Ivailo Gabrovski (Konya Torku Seker Spor).
Once over the top, six riders clipped away, amongst them the same three who would be out front later on: Deignan, Belkov and Golas.
They were joined by nine others, amongst them the race leader Ivailo Gabrovski, his closest rival Alexandr Dyachenko (Astana) and Ag2r La Mondiale’s France’s Romain Bardet, who had started the day fifth overall.
This naturally caused panic amongst the other contenders, and so Dainal Petrov Andonov (Caja Rural, third overall) and Adrian Palomares (Andalucia) jumped across, followed by almost all of the other riders in the top ten. A twenty-man group was consequently clear at kilometre 65, although Spidertech’s Will Routley was absent.
The leading group racing onwards towards the Didim, where it would contest the Turkish Beauty Sprint in front of the ancient – and stunning - Temple of Apollo. However prior to the prime line, Belkov, Golas and Deignan clipped away and built a good lead. The others eventually slipped back to the main bunch.
The trio worked hard and established a two minute lead sixty kilometres from the line. Concerned at the lack of cohesion in the bunch behind, Andre Greipel (Lotto Belisol) attacked ten kilometres later, along with his team-mate Sander Coordel, Andrew Fenn (Omega Pharma Quick Step), Astana’s Marco Haller, and Mickael Pichon (Bretagne Schuller).
Greipel subsequently surged again and reduced the group to three inside the final 30 kilometres, although the two who went with him – Haller and Fenn – didn’t cooperate.
The move fizzled out, while subsequent attacks by riders such as Fabio Duarte (Colombia Coldeportes), Bardet and Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) also went the same way.
The constant accelerations eventually saw the three leaders caught with eight kilometres left, bringing their long escape to an end.
Last-gasp attacks:
A bunch sprint seemed destined, but Michal Golas (Omega Pharma Quick Step) tried to change that. He attacked with Thierry Hupond (Argos Shimano) was caught, then Enrico Battaglin (Colnago CSF Inox) bridged across and pushed ahead alone.
He had fourteen seconds’ lead with two kilometres left, but the bunch was closing fast.
When his attack was hauled back 500 metres from the line, his team-mate Modolo was able to swoop and ensure that the Italian squad took victory for the second day running.
The outcome means that Gabrovski once again keeps the jersey. He’s now got just two days to go until the end of the race, and is becoming increasingly confident.
“I was attacked close to the finish line but I followed all the well-placed riders for the GC,” he said. “Today was the hardest day, especially because of the heat. We’re getting closer. A lot of riders thought today was their last chance to oust me. I believe it too. If I keep the turquoise jersey tomorrow, I’ll sleep well until Sunday.”