Adria Mobil's cyclist wins Tour d'Azerbaijan 2nd stage
By Nigar Orujova
Primoz Roglic from Adria Mobil won the gold medal in the second stage of the Tour d'Azerbaijan on May 8, the tour's official webpage reported.
The traditional race, which gathered 150 cyclists representing 25 teams from 33 countries this year kicked off in Baku on May 7.
Roglic defeated his rival Will Clarke (Drapac). Rafael Andriato of Neri Sottoli led the chase group across the finish line nine seconds later for third place. Clarke, who had finished 25th on the first stage, took over the race lead.
Roglic and Clark jumped from the first group on the day's second climb, after about 114 km. They built up a lead of up to nearly three minutes - not much. They managed to stay away until the end.
Numerous attacks out of the chase group were never able to change their position.
It was a hard mountain stage, with heavy winds in the first part tearing the peloton into multiple groups. The climbs included steep ascents, tight curves and sometimes narrow roads.
Roglic, who was a ski jumper before becoming a pro cyclist, was surprised by his success.
"At first I stayed behind in the second group, and then we caught the first group at the feeding zone. We went ahead with one more guy on the descent leading up to the category one climb. And then I won the mountain points and the stage," he exclaimed.
Clarke called it "another really hard day. The first 40 km were pretty relaxed, then things got hard and harder. I found myself in the front group again. At about 115 km I attacked with Roglic, we got a bit of a gap, gave full gas on the descent and then opened a bigger gap. We worked well together."
The day started out in the arid climate of Baku under bright blue skies. They started with a strong headwind, but that did not stop 155 and 165 from jumping. They built up a lead of nearly 10 minutes by km 36, before the peloton started to give chase. There they faced a huge crosswind, which tore the field into three groups.
Kenny Van Hummel, a member of Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela team, was the winner of first stage of the tour on May 7.
Organized by Azerbaijan Cycling Federation, the tour was held twice in Baku and Azerbaijani regions in May.
Holding the annual cycling competition in Azerbaijan shows the rising domestic interest in this sport.