Stage four winner Andre Greipel has drawn real motivation from his riding during this Presidential Tour of Turkey, with the German telling the press that he has been pleasantly surprised by how well he has been climbing.
The Lotto Belisol rider wore the race leader’s jersey into Tuesday’s gruelling third stage. It concluded at the top of the steep 1820 metre Elmali climb and while Greipel did get dropped, he only went out the back of the dwindling front group with seven kilometres to go.
Given that many other riders were shelled before him, and that Greipel is one of the most muscular riders in the bunch, the performance was a motivating one.
So too his staying with the GC contenders on Wednesday’s very selective stage to Marmaris, where most of the other sprinters were dropped.
“I 'm surprised. I had a week off after Paris-Roubaix and with just three or four training rides,” he admitted in Wednesday’s press conference. “But I always do it like this and it is always works quite good to come here to Turkey. I'm surprised I'm going so well uphill, though.”
Greipel was asked if his improved climbing form bodes well for the Tour de France and his quest for a green jersey. He won three stages last year and finished second in the points classification to Peter Sagan. He doesn’t want to jump to any conclusions at this point in time.
“It is in three months, I don’t know. We will see,” he said. “This [the Tour] is where I want to have my peak, and want to be at my best with the team as well. The sprints are different here, as well as the team. The sprints are different here than it will be in the Tour de France.
“Also the level of going uphill and preparing the sprint will be different. This is an important race to build up towards July.”
Greipel dedicated his stage victory to his grandmother, who passed away in recent days. He said that it was uncertain if he would continue in the race, but he ultimately decided to do so.
“I spoke a lot with my family at home. They supported me to stay here,” he said in the press conference, which can be watched via the video below.
“It's also good for me. It's an important race for me, to build up to the Tour de France. I promised my family at home that I'd win a stage for my grandmother. I'm happy I could make it.”
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