When a bunch of riders hit the deck in the fourth stage of the Tour of Turkey (no ISN-riders were involved), the sprinting ambitions of the team were demolished.
The fourth stage in the Tour of Turkey featured some beautiful coastal roads and impressive views of the Mediterranean Sea. The race started close to the old castle of Alanya, heading through Antalya, and finishing in Kemer.
It was a little bit windy on the open ocean roads and Israel Start-Up Nation tried to set up echelons. The wind was not hard enough though, so apart from a few riders dropping off the back, it was not quite successful.
It was clear that @TeamIsraelSUN did not want to simply ride to the finish for another bunch sprint. The team instead chose a more aggressive style of racing, while making sure the sprint train would stay in position for the final.
ISN was, in the last kilometers of racing, betting once more on sprinter Andre Greipel, who had finished top-10 in every single stage of the Tour of Turkey so far.
It was both the hard battling for positions and the crash with a few hundred meters to go that derailed ISN’s sprint train. The boys lost each other’s wheels, and the chance for another sprinting success was eliminated.
Fortunately, none of the ISN-riders hit the deck. Unfortunately, there was no way to salvage a good result for Andre Greipel.
Tomorrow is the first day with proper elevation in the Tour of Turkey. Instead of working hard for Greipel, the team will go all-out for climber Sebastian Berwick.
#TUR2021 #YallaISN
