Sacha Modolo (Lampre-Merida) again confirmed that he is fully ready to add to his tally of Giro d’Italia stage wins by claiming his second stage win at the Tour of Turkey on the hilly penultimate stage of the race. Having survived two late climbs, he profited from an excellent lead-out from teammate Roberto Ferrari to narrowly hold off Manuel Belletti (Southeast) in a reduced bunch sprint, with Marco Zanotti (Parkhotel) taking another third place. Jose Goncalves (Caja Rural) retained the overall lead.

We have gathered several reactions.

Sacha Modolo after second win: My confidence is sky high

Recently selected for the team’s line-up for the Giro d’Italia, Sacha Modolo demonstrated to be ready for the Pink Race by winning the 7th stage of the Tour of Turkey.

The sprint of the cyclist was perfect and it allowed him to beat Belletti, Zanotti and Stepniack, adding another success to the one he obtained in Alanya in the 4th stage.

“The profile of the course was not flat, we covered some climbs: they were not as demanding as yesterday’s, however they could have been selective,” Modolo explained. “Yesterday I had good feelings while climbing, the sports directors told me that I should focus my attention on the top result because I had a good condition and so I did.

“During the race, my legs were great and, thanks to the support of my team mates, I did not spend energy  in the approach to the climbs. I could reach the summit of the last climb at 8 km to go with much energy which allowed me to make a very fast sprint. I began my progression in the right moment, I did not make a mistake as I had done in the 5th stage, when I started too early. I’m happy with the victory and I’m satisfied in view of the Giro d’Italia“.

“Today was perfect. The other day was perfect too, although the finish today probably suited me even better. A climb, a descent, a sprint: exactly what makes me a winner. It was not only me today by the whole team that made me a winner. Ferrari led me out in the sprint.

”We had a lot of bad luck in March and April. We all crashed in Milan Sanremo, but now it looks like luck is back on our side. Just before the Giro is a good time to come good.

”We knew the Tour of Turkey was a good way to prepare for the Giro from last year. I did the Tour of Turkey and then we went all well: with Ferrari and Richeze, we had a very good Giro. The only problem is, this year, I'll have only one day at home between Turkey and the Giro, and it takes a lot of flights to get to Istanbul and then to Cappadocia. We have two more flights tomorrow, then there's the flight to Holland, then from Holland to Italy. It makes for a lot of travelling. I suppose that I can rest after the Giro.

”I've been coming here for six years, since 2010, and I sincerely like the race. This year there were some doubts, with the change of organisation, but it has gone all well. You can't tell the difference between one year and the next. There has been more stress in the bunch because of the hard stage on Day Two, which we were not used to, and the wind and rain on stage 3. But it has been a beautiful Giro d'Italia.

”My confidence is sky high, I don't feel inferior to [Greipel, Kittel or Ewan) as a sprinter, but as a team we are not at their level. I'll only have Ferrari to lead me out, so we'll have to try to do what we can. We've lost Richeze, who was important. On the very flat stages it will be difficult, but the Giro isn't easy, with long and nervous stages, so perhaps I can do something on thje more demanding stages. 

Przemysław Niemiec (Lampre – Merida) added: “Before the start of the stage, we decided that we’d ride the final climb flat out to avoid any kind of attack. Unfortunately there was a head wind and it was very hard to climb. I also told the team that I’d put myself at the service of Sacha [Modolo] to thank him for the work he did for me yesterday. He brilliantly won the stage today. I’m very happy for him and the team.

”The Tour of Turkey is a beautiful preparation for the Giro. We race in the heat, the roads are nice and wide. There are flat stages, there are hills as well, there’s everything here you need to gear up for a Grand Tour and I hope we’ll continue to enjoy success at the Giro as much as in Turkey.”

Today Lampre-Merida could not have the support of Xu Gang who did not start because of the worsening of the pain at the ribs which was caused by the crash in stage 1.

Niemiec is still the leader of the mountains classification (21 points), preceding Koshevoy (16 points).

It was the fourth seasonal victory for Lampre-Merida.

Manuel Belletti: Greg Henderson’s attack cost me the win

Second placed Manuel Belletti (Southeast) said: “We took the responsibility of the chase behind the Lotto-Soudal rider [Greg Henderson] who was away before the sprint. Because of doing this, only two team-mates remained to lead me out and Liam Bertazzo has had to make an effort too early, at 500 metres to go. After that, the speed has slowed down a bit and I’ve been caught by surprise by the two Lampre riders and my chain dropped. I’m disappointed to have lost the stage. I wanted to win here in Marmaris for the second time. It’s a beautiful place. But that’s life.”
 

Continental sprinter consistently on the podium in Turkey

Third placed Marco Zanotti (Parkhotel Valkenburg) said: “Modolo and Belletti are stronger than me! All I could do was to finish third or fourth, so I followed them. Like every we’ve had someone from the team in the breakaway [Bram Nolten] for being seen on tv. Everyone in this team is strong. My team-mates also protected me from the strong head wind in the final climb so I could sprint and get this podium place that pleases me again.”
 

Jose Goncalves: Hopefully Bilbao’s abandonment won’t be decisive

In Tour of Turkey, Caja Rural - Seguros RGA kept the blue leader’s jersey on the shoulders of José Gonçalves as he finished safely in the peloton on stage 7.Domingos Gonçalves sprinted to tenth place as the team’s best rider today. Unfortunately, Pello Bilbao had to abandon the race due to sickness. The final stage of the race takes place on Sunday.

José Gonçalves (Caja Rural – Seguros RGA) said:  “It was a short stage, one in which we tried to minimise our energy expenditure for tomorrow, which will be long and hard. I am very confident and motivated and so is the team. Tomorrow is a long stage and you never know how it's going to go. There is no plan at this stage. It is the final day, and we'll try and leave it all out on the road. If I can get through tomorrow and win the Tour of Turkey, it will be the first international stage race win of my career and I'll be very, very happy.

”We all knew that Pello Bilbao was ill today. It was better for him to abandon than to continue if he can't contribute, and to worsen his condition. We wouldn't want that. He did what he could at the front, then he stepped off. Tomorrow, we have other riders, a good team, and hopefully his absence will not be decisive.”

Lluis Mas: Now the Turkish Beauty Sprints jersey is a real goal
Lluís Mas (Caja Rural – Seguros RGA) said: “Last year I attacked towards the top of the last climb before the downhill to Marmaris. I remembered it was a great feeling so I tried again 1km before the summit with the idea of going for the stage win after the other tasks of the day were already completed. We had delivered José Gonçalves to the final part of the stage with no worries.

”I hadn’t focused on the defending my lead in the Beauties of Turkey today but I will tomorrow. I have two riders to watch: Pawel Cieslik who scored three points today and is now second to me in the classification and Peter Schulting who has six points. I won’t let them go!”

Pawel Cieslik regrets lack of cooperation in Turkish breakaway

”I had bad luck with my companions,” he said. “Most riders worked half-heartedly and did not want to give it everything. Today was a real chance to get to the finish line if only in the initial phase had given us a little more time. That did not happen and this destroyed the chance to stay away.”