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HODEG WINS IN MANISA AS HAAS TAKES THIRD PLACE TO CLOSE ON GC
Colombian delivers textbook sprint finish for first TUR win
Full official results, rider quotes, photography, race report
Saturday 13 October, Manisa – 53 Alvaro Hodeg (Quick-Step Floors) thanked his ‘amazing’ team mates as he won for the first time in Turkey on stage 5 to Manisa.
In a frantic bunch sprint finish to the line, it was Hodeg who timed his attack perfectly to see off 82 John Degenkolb. The Trek-Segafredo man had followed his wheel all the way to the line, but the young Colombian was too strong.
 All photography, credit Brian Hodes / VeloImages
64 Nathan Haas finished an impressive third and took back what could be a vital 6 seconds in the battle for the SporToto General Classification competition. He now trails 14 Alexey Lutsenko by just 4 seconds, tied in second place with 1 Diego Ulissi (UAE-Team Emirates). It sets up what will be a fascinating final day at this year's Presidential Tour of Turkey.
41 Sam Bennett (BORA-hansgrohe), kept the Salcano Green Jersey as he finished fourth. But he was boxed in on the final 150m and couldn’t get around a tight bunch to launch an attack. The Irishman will be determined to finish on a high and win on the final day to add to his two stage victories this week.
194 Onur Belkan (Turkish National Team) is still in the Turkey Home White Jersey and barring any incidents tomorrow, will win the competition and be crowned as the Beauties of Turkey classification leader. The Turkish rider took maximum points in the day’s prime and has an unassailable 10 point lead.
The leader in the Turkish Airlines Red Jersey will also remain the same for a second successive day. 154 Aldemar Reyes (Manzana Postobon) leads the mountains classification heading in to day 6.
 All photography, credit Brian Hodes / VeloImages
Download full results (LINK)
Vestel Stage 5 Selçuk - Manisa summary result:
1. 53 Alvaro Hodeg (Quick-Step Floors) in 03h15m12s
2. 82 John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo)
3. 64 Nathan Haas (Team Katusha – Alpecin)
SporToto Turquoise jersey (General Classification) summary standings:
1. 14 Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Pro Team)
2. 64 Nathan Haas (Team Katusha – Alpecin) + 4secs
3. 1 Diego Ulissi (UAE-Team Emirates) + 4secs
Jerseys
SporToto Turquoise jersey: overall race leader: 14 Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Pro Team)
Turkish Airlines Red Jersey: mountain classification leader: 154 Aldemar Reyes (Manzana Postobon)
Turkey Home White Jersey: Beauties of Turkey classification leader: 194 Onur Belkan (Turkish National Team)
Salcano Green Jersey: points classification leader: 41 Sam Bennett (BORA-hansgrohe)
 All photography, credit Brian Hodes / VeloImages
Rider reaction:
53 Alvaro Hodeg (Quick-Step Floors) who won today’s race said: “The team were incredible to get me in the perfect position for the final sprint. In the last 100m all I had to do was sprint as hard as I could because Max (Richeze) led me out to perfection again, he’s the best, so I knew I just had to follow his wheel and then do my job to the line.
“I knew (Sam) Bennett was there somewhere on the wheel about 1km out, but I just had to concentrate on my job and keep trying. I think I timed my sprint perfectly today and that was enough.
“It’s an amazing feeling to win here and I am honoured that the team believed in me after we lost Fernando (Gaviria) on the first day. It’s a great moment for me.
“Tomorrow is not a traditional finish for a bunch sprint but we will see. I trust the team to get me up there and we will try to win again.
“I just want to build on this now. I’m not too sure what races I’ll be at next year but for me the most important thing will be to keep improving and try to win more stages.”
82 John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) finished second and said: “I waited to go out and I was sitting in a great position on the wheels. I knew I’d found the right one to follow but I waited and maybe I didn’t quite go early enough to start my sprint. I don’t think I can leave it that late really and he’s super quick so I couldn’t get past him.
“I needed a few days to get up to where I wanted to be with my fitness but as the week has gone on I’ve felt good. It’s been hard and we’ve come close a couple of times now. There’s one stage to go and one last win tomorrow would round it off perfectly. We just have to have a trust and belief in the team’s plan and hopefully we can go away with a victory.”
64 Nathan Haas (Team Katusha – Alpecin), who came third and is four seconds down on General Classification said: “It wasn’t really the plan to make up time on GC at all. It was a straight forward plan from the start to just be up there at the finish, so it's a nice bonus.
“The last 15km was pretty chaotic and we didn’t really know what was happening at the front but I’ve an awesome team. 61 Maxim Belkov and 66 Reto Hollenstein were amazing for me to get up there and Reto was my man, he’s always helping me. They’re just a super squad and they all put in another real shift again. It’s just so fun riding here and then for them to put me in position again like that is amazing.
On tomorrow and making up 4 seconds in the battle for GC: “The team have done amazingly. Even if it’s top three and we can consolidate that we’d be really happy with it as a team. To get such a good hit out and enjoy ourselves at the same time, in the last race of the season, it’s what it’s all about. I’m just really proud of each and every member of our team - they’re brilliant.”
194 Onur Belkan (Turkish National Team) all but wrapped up the battle for the Beauties of Turkey competition as he took maximum points in the day’s prime. He said afterwards: “It was really hard for me today and the first 40km it was really windy and tough going, so the break couldn’t get away.
“After that I managed to get in the lead group which I wanted to do for the Turkish people. I wear this with pride and I gave it my all today.
“Tomorrow I just have to be careful and make sure we don’t get caught up in any crashes. If I can just get to the finish then the jersey is mine. I’m really motivated to do that and I am proud of what we have done this week as a team.
“It was great to attack off the front and get the points. The crowd were waving and spurring me on and it was really enjoyable for me and for the fans to see me wearing this jersey.”
154 Aldemar Reyes (Manzana Postobon Team) who leads the Turkish Airlines Red Jersey as mountain classification leader, said: “Today went well. We had to pay attention to the breakaway but it was good for us nobody got away and there were no rivals at the front.
"It meant I could have quite a relaxed day and save some strength because I had spent two days at the front and it was demanding. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow, we hope for something similar to today and if not I’ll try to be in the break and fight for the points. We know we’ll have to be at our best to win this classification and it would be a great achievement. It’s a World Tour race so it would be a very important podium for my career and for the team.”
Race report
The Saturday morning markets were bustling in Selçuk, as the penultimate day’s start location welcomed the 54thPresidential Tour of Turkey. Rows and rows of fresh fruit and vegetables and all sorts of Turkish delicacies were scattered across the many stalls set up in the centre of this beautiful historic town.
Local children sat on race motorbikes and posed for photos with some of the 135 riders preparing to make their way to Manisa. Like every place the race has started in this week, the Turkish people were embracing their moment in their home town.
The peloton were two riders down from yesterday with 17 Artyom Zakharov (Astana Pro Team) not starting the morning’s action and 22 Iván Garcíanot not completing yesterday’s stage after his early exertions.
The first 20km of the day saw a number of breakaway groups try to form but every escape attempt was quickly pulled back by the bunch, who seemed intent on letting anything succeed early on in what was a relatively short Stage 5.
At 27km, Intermediate sprint (Salcano Green Jersey competition):
1. (5 pts, 3 secs) 173 Alex Kirsch (WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic)
2. (3 pts, 2 secs) 64 Nathan Haas (Team Katusha-Alpecin)
3. (1 pt, 1 sec) 83 Fabio Felline (Trek – Segafredo)
After the day’s intermediate sprint, the main bunch continued to control any attacks, preventing any riders from getting any significant time advantage. Perhaps due to the flat terrain in the first few km but also with the general classification top three riders only being separated by a matter of seconds, Astana Pro Team seemed intent on ensuring any rival teams threatening 14 Alexey Lutsenko’s potential crown, didn’t gain take any precious seconds that might make a difference.
 All photography, credit Brian Hodes / VeloImages
But at 44km, a breakaway did eventually succeeded. It soon had an advantage of 1 minute 40 seconds. The lead group consisted of five riders with 102 Rafael Reis (Caja Rural - Seguros RGA), 111 Amaro Antunes (CCC Sprandi Polkowice), 145 Nikolay Trusov (Gazprom-RusVelo), 161 Aimé De Gendt (Sport Vlaanderen – Baloise) and 194 Onur Balkan (Turkish National Team) at the top of the road.
At 53.4 km: Category 3 climb (Turkish Airlines Red Jersey competition):
1. (3 pts) 161 Aimé De Gendt (Sport Vlaanderen – Baloise)
2. (2 pts) 111 Amaro Antunes (CCC Sprandi Polkowice)
3. (1 pts) 102 Rafael Reis (Caja Rural - Seguros RGA)
Shortly after the only climb of the day, the leading five increased their lead further and their advantage on the main pack was now holding at around 2 mins 35 secs and it did so for the next 30km.
Meanwhile it was the Astana Pro Team train yet again on the front of the peloton continuing to protect yesterday’s stage winner and leader of the Turquoise jersey, 14 Alexey Lutsenko.
At 45km to go, it was the turn of Quick-Step Floors to the front and they soon began to start pegging back the lead and within the next 5km the advantage had halved to 1 min 32 secs with all the sprinters teams coming through, with just over an hour of racing left to go.
With 20km of action left, BORA- Hasgrohe and Quick-Step Floors had brought the lead down to under a minute as it looked like the breakaway would once again get pulled in. At 12.5km left in proceedings, the lead was a small 35 seconds as the peloton prowled – seeing the lead group ahead on the long straight road that faced them.
 All photography, credit Brian Hodes / VeloImages
But the leaders weren’t caught before the last prime of the day, which saw 194 Onur Balkan attack off the front to ensure he got the maximum five points available in the Turkey at Home Beauties of Turkey competition. That would surely be enough for him to finish in Istanbul tomorrow with the White jersey.
At km 125.8km: “Beauties of Turkey” (Turkey at Home White Jersey competition)
1. (5 pts) 194 Onur Balkan
2. (3 pts) 161 Aimé De Gendt (Sport Vlaanderen – Baloise)
3. (1 pts) 111 111 Amaro Antunes (CCC Sprandi Polkowice)
It was a brilliant attempt from Balkan and at 7.5km to go, he had eked out a small advantage to the chasing bunch of 35 seconds as the home crowds at road side cheered him on. But the peloton weren’t ever going to let him get away for too long and passing by the 6km to go mark, everyone was back together and preparing for another bunch sprint as they entered the outskirts of Manisa.
 All photography, credit Brian Hodes / VeloImages
Team Sunweb then joined the front of the pack as they moved up the left hand side, looking to line up their sprinter, 76 Edward Theuns for a chance at the finish.
As the teams jostled for position, there was a crash in the bunch at 2.8km which saw 44 Matteo Pelucchi of the BORA-Hansgrohe train hit the deck. Shortly after, 56 Max Richeze wasn't afraid to get involved in some hustling as Quick-Step Floors looked to place Alvaro Hodeg. In the last km the Colombian looked to be in the perfect position on the back of his team mate's wheel.
The main contenders were all there going in to the final 1km. Then with 500m to go, 41 Sam Bennett appeared to get packed in and was unable to launch a sprint off the right wheel. 81 John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo), was positioned right in the mix up and the German followed the wheel of Hodeg.
As he waited to launch his attack, he delayed slightly too long and as Hodeg peeled off Richeze, Degenkolb didn’t have the legs to match the Quick-Step Floors man and it was the young kid from Colombia who sped through and took first first ever win in Turkey.
54th Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey, 9-14 October 2018 (2.UWT):
Stage 1 (sponsored by Turkish Airlines) - Konya › Konya
Stage 2 (SporToto) - Alanya › Antalya
Stage 3 (Troy) - Fethiye › Marmaris
Stage 4 (SporToto) - Marmaris › Selçuk
Stage 5 (Vestel) - Selçuk › Manisa
Stage 6 (Salcano) - Bursa › Istanbul
For further TUR information, please follow us on Twitter at @tourofturkeyTUR #TUR2018
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