SELCUK (Türkiye) – Olive groves and peach orchards follow one another without stopping along the 156-kilometer ring that starts and ends in this town in southwest Anatolia, Selcuk, modern Ephesus. The archaeological area awaits us immediately after the stage. After listening to what the guide said, among columns, temples and theatres, we begin to think that after the Greeks and Romans, now it's the turn of the XDS-Astana dominate this ancient city.
Il Tour of Turkiye He attacks this stage, also thanks to the forced rest from the previous day: the stage was suspended due to too much rain... not without a certain amount of controversy.
It's windy down in the larger valleys, but suddenly the wide roads become first narrow, then very narrow, and the wind dies down a bit. We go to the most authentic Türkiye, made of old houses, farmers And… people with smartphones in hand ready to film the riders. There's an overwhelming sense of authenticity in the air and beautiful scenery to admire.
Bad tears
The finale is truly tough. Two climbs that offer nothing to be desired, especially the first. There are some steep climbs, some as steep as 15 percent. The top 15 riders of this Tour of Turkiye remain at the front, and three of them are from XDS-Astana: Wout Poels, Harold Martin Lopez and Fausto Masnada.
Among the 15 there is also Giovanni Carboni. The Italian is going strong, very strong... In the end, he'll finish fifth. A placement that doesn't satisfy him.
«I left too early – says the athlete of the Unibet - I had the leg, but maybe I should have waited. Especially since others had teammates. But the other day, on the queen stage, I lost some time due to some crashes and wanted to make up some ground. We'll try again and see what happens."
Masnada shoots, sews, throws again and then lets Lopez do the work. About 1.800 meters from the finish, Lopez breaks away and heads for the stage. Poels follows him, just to keep the lead. First and second. Five months and 2.500 kilometers later, we see the words he had spoken to us come true. Maurizio Mazzoleni in Denia, in Spain, this winter: that they would have raced in a certain way, chasing points in races that may be less well-known, but are tough. And the Tour of Turkiye belongs to the category ".Pro“, the most important after the WorldTour.
Welcome back Masnada
It's great to see the Bergamo native back in front, actively participating in the race. Especially since his work contributed to the victory of his teammate, Harold Martin Lopez.
«I'm happy to be here – says Masnada with satisfaction – Finally, after three years with several physical problems, it seems I'm finding my pedal stroke again. I'm struggling, I'm not as brilliant as I once was, but today I had extra motivation. Since we have the leader and the second-placed rider, we're racing as a true team. So I've also rediscovered the pleasure of working for the captains and enjoying the race and its dynamics. When it comes together, you feel valued.
"Today (yesterday, ed.) I did what was asked of me, and my legs responded quite well. Like the other day, we managed to get the job done, and that boosts morale. Also because in these races, even if they're not top-level, it's very tiring and it's not easy to control the race. We still have two stages left, and our sprinter, Matteo Malucelli, will be able to have his say in the remaining sprints».
Time Fausto Masnada returns to the big time cycling: he will be at Tour of Italy. «From here I'll go directly to Albania, on a flight from Istanbul on Monday.»
The Pink Panther of Ecuador
And then there's the winner, Harold Martin Lopez. The first thing we ask him is what we should call him: Harold or Martin? And he: «In Ecuador I am Martin, in XDS-Astana I am Harold!»Masnada also told us that Lopez has a great engine and that he is a good product of the XDS-Astana youth system.
"I found a team that also invests in young players," Masnada concluded. "The Continental team was always present at the winter training camp, and I liked this teamwork." Now Harold has made the leap in quality, I think we have the right environment to nurture new talents.».
Then here we are with Lopez. When he speaks, he speaks excellent Italian and appears confident and spontaneous: two significant characteristics.
"Honestly, I expected to win," he admits frankly. "I started the season with a bad fall in Australia (he still bears the marks on his face, ed.) and was out for two weeks. But then I did four full-on races in Ecuador. I trained and came back well, I was really eager and I immediately went strong, both in the Milan-Turin that the Catalonia that still at Tour of GreeceI won it. So I came here to Türkiye with a lot of determination. I was and had a motivated team. Here in Türkiye I had finished second in the queen stage and today it was my turn».
Lopez is another son of the Andes, a pure climber. Small but powerful, with huge thighs. And above all, he's young: we're talking about a 2000-born athlete. He's eager to learn, and that's also why he loves being with Italians. Masnada has nicknamed him "Pink Panther"... In Ecuador, he often goes out with Richard Carapaz.
"Richard is a friend of mine," he says, "and he also gives me a lot of advice. After I finished second in a stage in Greece he told me that I was a real amateur, because I had done the sprint with my hands on the levers».
