"Good position for the final sprint, lost a wheel on the last turn."

Those were the words of Astana's Ruslan Tleubayev after stage eight at the Tour of Turkey. Astana Pro Team rode at the front on the twisty and cobblestone streets of Istanbul to protect Tleubayev and allow him to conserve his energy before the expected mass sprint at the end of the final stage of the 2015 Tour of Turkey.

Tleubayev finished with the leaders of the race in the same time as Luis Guillermo Mas of Spain in front of thousands of fans gathered to cheer the riders on Sultanakhmet Square in the old port city of Istanbul.

Astana came close to a stage win in stage 6 when Miguel Angel Lopez finished second but the team leaves the race empty-handed.