The Tour of Turkey hits its second stage today over a 154km course that should finish in a bunch sprint.
The fast men are chomping at the bit after Theo Bos took the stage yesterday, and with so many big names at the start, it’s going to be another wild finish. The only wrench that might get in the machine today is a 50m climb some distance from the finish. It isn’t much, but a very hard effort and someone having a bad day may find themselves floating off the back early.
Andre Greipel loves these types of stages, but keep a close eye on Bos again for the win, as well as SaxoBank’s JJ Haedo. Saxo needs points where ever they can get them, and an eight day stage race featuring lots of sprints and no Mark Cavendish (he’ll be at Romandie tomorrow) is a rare opportunity they will need to take full advantage of.
Tomorrow is Turkey’s big mountain stage, so the sprinters won’t be as fresh as they are now again for this race. Expect a well-leashed breakaway early representing riders from non-spring teams so that they sweep up points on the road, then a furious chase in the last 50km to ensure the peloton can make their catch at a moment’s notice. RaboBank will be forced to a lot of work after Bos’ win, but they are a squad that can handle all the pressure.
Livestreams should be up and running by 8.30am EST, though there may be a delay by as much as fifteen minutes, as we encountered yesterday. Links below:
English 2 (Live at 7.45am EST)