Baku to welcome world-famous riders at 2016 Tour d'Azerbaidjan
By Laman Ismayilova
A diverse and international peloton will line up next week in
Baku for the start of the 2016 Tour d'Azerbaidjan, with recent Tour
of Croatia winner Matija Kvasina leading the way as one of the
pre-race favorites.
Kvasina leads a strong line-up from Azerbaijan’s Synergy Baku
Cycling that will be looking for success on home roads.The in-form
Croatian is also joined by third place finisher of the Tour
d'Azerbaijan in 2015, Matej Mugerli.
They will be up against a strong roster from Pro Continental
Bora Argon-18, who brings the experienced Jan Barta alongside
fast-finisher Phil Bauhaus, who has already sprinted to a podium
place in Belgium this spring.
Another of the six Pro Continental teams in the race, Australian
outfit Drapac Professional Cycling boasts strength in depth with
several years of WorldTour experience between names including Will
Clarke and Nathan Earle.
The experienced Rinaldo Nocentini, a yellow jersey wearer in the
2008 Tour de France, leads the line-up from Continental team, Team
Tavira that includes climber David De La Fuente, who in 2006 wore
the Polka Dot jersey at the TdF.
For the fast finishes Team Roth’s Alberto Cecchin and Cycling
Academy Team’s Guillaume Boivin will also be ones to watch. Boivin
is also joined by 2015 stage winner, Daniel Turek. However, in this
race that has a habit of creating surprise and suspense even the
lesser known riders could steal the show.
Last year’s winner Primoz Roglič has since joined the WorldTour
ranks with Lotto-NL Jumbo, and his previous team, Adria Mobil, will
not be on the start line of the 2016 edition.
The UCI 2.1 five-day Tour d’Azerbaidjan stage race will start on May 4 in Baku and finish on May 8. Tour d’Azerbaidjan -2016 will be the fifth edition of the event, which started in 2012 as the Heydar Aliyev Anniversary Tour (U23) and in 2012 - the tour became an annual event, later transformed into Tour d'Azerbaidjan.
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