News | Tour of Turkey • October 9, 2018
Consonni sixth in opening Tour of Turkey stage
In the bunch sprint in Konya, Richeze won
The first stage of the 2018 Tour of Turkey covered 150km with the start and finish in Konya, including two easy climbs, and ended with a fast bunch gallop topped by Maximiliano Richeze (Quick-Step Floors).
UAE Team Emirates’s Simone Consonni held his ground in the sprint. Just outside the top five, he placed sixth. Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) placed second and Jempy Drucker (BMC Racing) third.
Diego Ulissi, overall winner in Turkey in 2017, survived the stage without any problems. He arrived safely in the bunch with the protection of his team (photo Bettini, UAE Team Emirates at the teams presentation).
“The final was a little chaotic and very hard-fought, with a crash that made things complicated,” Consonni said. “The stage wasn’t very hard and considering it was also the first day, riders arrived in the last kilometre fresh with energy. As a result, many tried to participate in the sprint, expanding the group of rivals and intensifying the finish.
I tried to use the slipstream of my rivals, just missing out on the top five. I’m going to try again, for sure, hope to do better already tomorrow at the finish line in Antalya.”
The second stage covers 154.1km over flat roads from Alanya to Antalya.
Stage 1 results
1 Maximiliano Richeze (Quick-Step Floors) 3h29’14”
2 Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) s.t.
3 Jempy Drucker (BMC) s.t.
6 Simone Consonni (UAE Team Emirates) s.t.
Overall after stage 1
1 Maximiliano Richeze (Quick-Step Floors) 3h29’04”
2 Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) 4″
3 Jempy Drucker (BMC) 6″
8 Simone Consonni (UAE Team Emirates) 10″
