Andrea Guardini (Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli) continued his good showings in bunch sprints by beating Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Cervélo) and Kenny Van Hummel (Skil-Shimano) in Istanbul. The riders covered the 114 kilometers at an average speed of almost 44 km/h. Guardini also took over the leader's jersey.
Stage one down and Guardini was quite happy in Istanbul. "I couldn't have started better," Guardini said after the finish. "Farrar jokingly told me that tomorrow the fun starts - I am ready!"
Guardini is a first-year professional who raised eyebrows in Tour of Langkawi, when he won five stages. He went on to win stage five of the Tour of Qatar. The Tour of Turkey is yet another step up for the 21-year-old and beating riders like Farrar and Van Hummel will certainly boost his confidence.
His director, Luca Scinto, was happy of course as well - but was not sure yet if the youngster will make the Giro d'Italia. "From the results he certainly deserves it the most, but we know he has to improve in terms of legnth of stages and on the climbs." Scinto hasn't closed the completely yet, "especially if he continues to win."
Guardini himself was also thinking about the Giro d'Italia. "I am dedicating this victory to our captain, Giovanni Visconti. We are all with him and know that at the Giro he will be ready for some spectacle. This win comes after some bad luck, where we couldn't win. But cycling is like that," Guardini said.
Team Type 1 - sanofi-aventis rider Laszlo Bodrogi initiated a seven-man breakaway in the first of eight laps around Istanbul. After 68 kilometers, Arturo Ora Ortiz took the Turkish Beauties Sprints points. The group had 50 seconds on the peloton as they entered into Asia.
But the break didn't stick. "The escape was never very successful at staying away," Bodrogi said. "Some riders began attacking the break and the gap would jump from 30 seconds to 50 seconds and fall back each lap. We knew this was a stage for the sprinters and tried to make something for the finish, but in the end they caught us with about 15k to go."
Team Type 1 - sanofi-aventis rider Martijn Verschoor, who has type 1 diabetes and must monitor his blood glucose continuously and periodically take insulin to control the disease, said he felt strong into the final and was satisfied with his condition on the first stage in Istanbul.
"At the beginning of the race my blood glucose was 159, and it rose to over 230 in the race. I took two units of insulin to bring it down, because that number is not good. My legs felt fine all day, and I had something to eat right after the race to get back to a good level," Verschoor said.
Results stage 1, Istanbul-Istanbul, 114km
1. GUARDINI Andrea FAR 2h35'54"
2. FARRAR Tyler GRM
3. VAN HUMMEL Kenny SKS
4. BELLETTI Manuel COG
5. FERRARI Roberto AND
6. VAN DIJK Stefan VWA
7. BOUHANNI Nacer FDJ
8. PETACCHI Alessandro LAM
9. LOBATO DEL VALLE Juan Jose ACG
10. MILAN JIMENEZ Diego CJR
General classification after stage 1
1. GUARDINI Andrea FAR 2h35'54"
2. FARRAR Tyler GRM at 0'04
3. VAN HUMMEL Kenny SKS at 0'06