Blaz Jarc performs well at the finish in Marmaris
The 132.5-km fourth stage of the Tour of Turkey came down to a sprint of a 50-man group in Marmaris. Blaz Jarc was Team NetApp’s best-finishing rider in 21st place. Mark Renshaw (Rabobank) had the fastest legs at the end, relegating Matthew Goss (GreenEdge) and Daniele Colli (Team Type1) to second and third place, respectively.
The standings in the general classification remain unchanged with Gabrovski (Konya Torku Seker Sport), Alexsandr Dyachenko (Astana) and Danail Andonov Petrov (Caja Rural) in first, second and third place overall.
The fourth day of the tour saw a long battle for the lead group of the day. Finally, a four-man attack group managed to pull away around the 40-km mark. “Today’s stage was difficult. The field was split in two by the time the lead group was caught up with, with 12 kilometers to go. There were about 50 riders out front near the end of the race. Blaz Jarc, in particular, performed well today. Weighing nearly 90 kilos he makes his way over the mountains very well. He tried to attack with just one kilometer to go, but unfortunately he didn’t get through,” reported Sport Director Jens Heppner.
Tomorrow’s fifth stage of the Tour of Turkey will take the peloton from Marmaris to Turgutreis, covering 177.8 kilometers. “In terms of the profile, the course is similar to the fourth stage but significantly longer. The first 110 kilometers could be very demanding. Things will become a bit easier after that. Once again, it could come down to a large group,” conjectured Heppner. Unfortunately, Team NetApp will have to do without one more rider tomorrow. Michael Schwarzmann had to retire from the race today due to knee problems.
stage 1, 22 April: Alanya - Alanya, 135.2 km
stage 2, 23 April: Alanya - Antalya, 152.2 km
stage 3, 24 April: Antalya - Elmali, 151.8 km
stage 4, 25 April: Fethiye - Marmaris, 132.5 km
stage 5, 26 April: Marmaris - Turgutreis, 177.8 km
stage 6, 27 April: Bodrum - Kusadasi, 179 km
stage 7, 28 April: Kusadasi - Izmir, 123.8 km
stage 8, 29 April: Istanbul, 120.4 km
