Etixx - Quick-Step rider Tom Boonen was the top finisher for the team, in 72nd place on Wednesday, as the team was unable to maintain contact with the peloton over the last climb of the 132km Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey 4th Stage from Fethiye to Marmaris.
Andre Greipel (Lotto Soudal) won the stage. Daniele Colli (Nippo - Vini Fantini) was 2nd, and Daniele Ratto (UnitedHealthcare) was 3rd. The peloton caught six leaders with 11.5km to go in the race, but the last uncategorized climb, with the top at just a few kilometer before the finish, caused a significant number of riders to lose contact with the bunch. About 55 riders decided the stage.
Mark Cavendish was one of the riders unable to make it over the top, along with his teammates. But the British rider who won the first two stages remains in the Points Jersey with 30 points, which is the same number of points as Ratto in 2nd.
Etixx - Quick-Step looks next to Stage 5. There will be 159.9km to cover from start to finish, and the race crests the top of the toughest climb (Category 2) of the day at the 74.9km mark. However, the finish is a short but punchy uphill.
"We knew it was going to be hard," Cavendish said. "The racing over the last climb was harder than last year. Perhaps we were too motivated. The team pulled to close the gap in the second from last climb, and then, in the last 5-600m of the final climb, riding into the headwind, we just missed it. Perhaps we were over confident, pushing more than 300W in the 10km before the climb. But that’s life, we gave it our best shot.
"[My goals are] tomorrow’s sprint, and then we have a good team for the last stage, which has changed for last year. It suits us down to the ground. I’m here to pick up stages and build my form."
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