Peloton gathers in Baku for Tour d’Azerbaijan
By Laman Sadigova
Riders from around the world are gathering in Baku for the 2015
Tour d’Azerbaijan. The five-stage race runs from May 6 to May 10,
and can be seen on the Eurosport television network.
“Once again we have prepared a course which will not only challenge
the riders, but also show off the natural beauty and
accomplishments of Azerbaijan,” said Farhad Aliyev, General
Secretary of the Azerbaijani Cycling Federation. “We look forward
to some hard-fought stages and a worthy overall winner on
Sunday.”
This year’s race features a number of top riders, including Vuelta
a Espana winner Christopher Horner. His Airgas-Safeway team and
Team Novo Nordisk are the first USA-based teams to participate in
the race, the Federation reports.
A look at the starting list shows
other top candidates, with Marco Kump (Adria Mobil) likely to
dominate the sprints. The Slovenian, who rode for Saxo-Tinkoff for
two seasons, has six wins on the season, all in bunch sprints.
Other riders in Baku with WorldTour experience include Francesco
Chicchi (Androni-Giacattoli) and Aldis Kroupis (An
Post-Chainreaction).
Three riders will be competing for the “Flame Jersey” for the best
Azerbaijani rider. Dual national champion Elchin Asadov, Maksym
Averin and Samir Jabrayilov all ride for the Azeri team Synergy
Baku Cycling Project.
The race opens with the traditional stage from Baku to Sumqayit,
with a bunch sprint expected. Hills and wind will feature on stage
two, from Baku to Ismayilli. The third stage runs from Qabala to
Shack and back to Qabala, with cobblestones along the way adding an
extra challenge.
Stage four is new this year, 205 km from Qabala to Mingachevir, and
another bunch sprint at the end. The race takes its traditional end
with a city course through Baku, with climbs and cobblestones, a
course which will also serve for the road race at next month’s Baku
European Games.
For the first time, three stages of the race will be broadcast live
around the world. Stages three, four and five will be carried live
on Eurosport, which will also have half-hour wrap-ups of the first
two stages.
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