The final stage of the Presidential Tour of Turkey was a fast one. The peloton had to cover 121 km in Istanbul, and the Turkish capital provided a spectacular scenery. In the end Luis Mas (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) was able to hold of the likes of Mark Cavendish (Etixx-QuickStep) and teammate Carlos Barbero to take the win. In the overall Kristian Durasek (Lampre-Merida) secured the win, with MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung’s Serge Pauwels finishing in 5th position.
Our South African outfit was one of the most active teams all week and todays final stage saw no difference. After a break of 4 rider got away early on the peloton kept its cards close to the chest and held the escapees within distance. With 5 km to go the bunch was all together, but Mas used the narrow cobbled climb towards the finish to attack. He got away and was able to hold off the rest of the peloton.
The finale was hectic, but MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung stayed safe. Youcef Reguigui was the teams best placed finisher on the day, coming home in 14th position. While he fought hard and managed to stay close to the front, the team also made sure that Serge finished without trouble. In addition to Serge’s 5th place in the overall, Songezo Jim rounded off the team’s performance coming 3rd in the KOM classification.
Youcef Reguigui – Rider
Serge Pauwels – Rider
Jean-Pierre Heynderickx -Sports Director