Astana continues top form with 1-2 punch in Turkey: López wins stage while Poels retains leader’s jersey

While summer-like weather had already arrived in much of Europe, Turkey faced completely different meteorological conditions. Due to bad weather in the usually sunny nation, Thursday’s fifth stage was canceled, after Poels had already made a bid for overall victory by winning Wednesday’s stage four.

Friday was the last day when Poels’ lead might realistically come under threat. The final weekend only features stages where the 37-year-old climber from XDS-Astana should not run into trouble. That made the 156-kilometer stage from Selçuk to the final climb up to Meryem Ana (4.2 km at 8.4%) a key day for the Dutchman. The finale also included the Mountain Prime climb of 3.6 km at 7.9%.

Just after midday (local time), the riders rolled out. In a fast-paced opening, it took a long time for the breakaway to form. Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto), José Luis Faura (Burgos), Tommaso Nencini (Solution Tech), Tuur Dens (Flanders), and Oliver Mattheis (BikeAid) were the first to break away — but not until after 50 kilometers. For Belgian rider Dens, the effort ended quickly. The remaining four escapees were allowed some freedom, but the peloton kept them on a short leash, never letting the gap grow beyond just over two minutes.

Once the peloton had closed the gap to a minute, crosswinds blew the race apart. Tibor Del Grosso missed the split, while Uno-X and Unibet Tietema Rockets drove the pace at the front of the first group. The breakaway was caught with 27 kilometers to go, just as the race exploded on the Mountain Prime climb.

The big names were already at the front before the final climb, forming a select group of favorites. Poels appeared to be struggling but managed to hang on to the wheels of his rivals. Fellow Dutchman Frank van den Broek was still well-placed. Uno-X took the initiative with attacks from both Andreas Kron and Johannes Kulset, though neither could break free. However, the accelerations reduced the lead group to a select group of riders.

After the descent — during which a dog was briefly seen on the course — some riders managed to return, forming a group of around thirty heading into the final climb. Jakub Otruba was still half a minute ahead at that point. The Czech had cleverly attacked earlier in the lead-up.

Kron worked at the front for Kulset, with Poels locked onto the Norwegian’s wheel and Van den Broek a bit further back. Just over two kilometers from the finish, Kulset launched his expected attack, but couldn’t get far. The next move came from Giovanni Carboni (Unibet Tietema Rockets), who passed and dropped Otruba. Carboni was then overtaken by López, with Poels also bridging across to the Unibet Tietema Rockets rider. López powered away solo to take the stage win, while Poels sprinted to second, securing his overall lead in the general classification.