Team Novo Nordisk’s Javier Megias protected his 11thplace position after making the front group on Friday’s mountainous Stage 6 of the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey.

The 184-kilometer stage started fast, covering 52 km in the first hour of racing. A breakaway wasn’t able to escape until 55 km into the stage when four riders got clear and quickly built a gap of 4:30. They were reeled in on the slopes of the Category 3 climb situated 21.6 km from the finish.

As the race hit the climbs, Team Novo Nordisk raced like a collective unit near the front of the peloton, ensuring Megias was protected. The final climb, a Category 1 that concluded with a summit finish on Efes Meryemana Evi, splintered the peloton with only the elite making the front group. Team Novo Nordisk’s Javier Megias featured in this group and crossed the line in 15th position, 48 seconds behind Pello Bilbao Lopez De Armentia (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA).

“I felt really good today and I was glad I could stay with Javi until the final climb,” Team Novo Nordisk’s Martijn Verschoor said. “While there was a lot of climbing, as a sprinter, I rode better than I expected. We aim to keep protecting Javi over the next two stages. Hopefully, we can help him move into the top 10 overall.”

Pello Bilbao Lopez De Armentia (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) climbed to the win three seconds ahead of Miguel Angel Lopez Moreno (Astana Pro Team) and Heiner Rodrigo Parra Bustamente (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA). Kristijan Durasek (Lampre-Merida) moved into the overall race lead. Megias remains 11th, 2:22 behind Durasek.

Team Novo Nordisk, the world’s first all-diabetes pro cycling team, continues racing at the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey on Saturday with Stage 7. The penultimate stage is the final true mountain stage of the race. The 166-km stage begins in Selcuk with the first categorized climb, a Category 3, situated 52.8 km into the race. The final climb, a Category 1, is situated 28.8 km from the finish in Izmir.