There is more than legs in cycling: there is tactics, timing, and obviously fate. Coming out of Giro del Trentino Melinda in great condition, Colombia-Coldeportes Rodolfo Torres was taking the start of the Giro dell’Appennino (Novi Ligure – Pontedecimo, 191 km) on Sunday April 26th as one of the main favorites.

But an unlucky crash on the way down from the Colle della Campagnola, with more than 100 km to go, concluded his effort in the worst possible way. The race lit up inside the final 50 km, with strong selection in the bunch and the final win of Spaniard Omar Fraile (Caja Rural), beating Stefano Pirazzi and Edoardo Zardini (both Bardiani-CSF) in a restricted sprint. The best of the day for Colombia-Coldeportes was Walter Pedraza, in spite of being involved in the same Torres crash: while in pain, the 33-year-old still finished 13th.

Right after the crash, Torres was taken by an ambulance to the Pontedecimo hospital: initially, it seemed like the rider could not move his shoulder, and a broken collarbone was a concrete fear, but fortunately x-rays excluded any fracture. The most notable consequences were severe contusions to his left calf and right leg.

Sports Director Valerio Tebaldi could not hide his disappointment to the Colombia website:

“Today we were very ambitious, and were controlling the race for Rodolfo and Walter to be in the fight for the win. Instead, the same crash took one out of contention and affected the other one, who still provided a very respectable performance. Such a shame that luck turned the other way.”

On the same day, the Tour of Turkey got underway with the first stage, Alanya-Alanya (145 km), won in a sprint by Mark Cavendish (Etixx-Quickstep) ahead of Caleb Ewan (Orica-GreenEDGE) and Nicola Ruffoni (Bardiani-CSF). Team Colombia-Coldeportes’ sprinters fought hard in a very hectic finish, trying to keep up with the trains of some of the strongest sprinters in the World. Carlos Julian Quintero and Juan Pablo Valencia did their best to bring Sebastian Molano and Edwin Avila in the top position, and the 22nd place by the 20-year-old Boyacan was due to inexperience more than anything else.

“For Sebastian it was the first time in a sprint like this, with the fight for position lighting up at the very moment the escapees were caught, with 18 km to go, and going on until the finishing line. He showed personality, but he spent energies he did not have anymore in the final metres: maybe he was brought upfront too soon, but we won’t make those mistakes again in the next stages,” Sports Director Oscar Pellicioli said.

Tomorrow, Monday, the second stage will be run between Alanya and Antalya (182 km), with another sprint finish on the cards.