Ulissi, victory and leader jersey in Turkey

Laengen, Consonni and Niemiec assisted Ulissi as he performed a tour de force for UAE Team Emirates in the 4th and queen stage of the Tour of Turkey, (204.1 km) that took the riders from Marmaris to the uphill arrival in Selcuk.

Diego Ulissi clinched the stage (photo Bettini) as well as the jersey for leader of the race, coming in 5″ ahead of Hansen, 9″ in front of Martinez, and leaving Masnada 11″ behind. The Italian ace did a great job managing the last 2 km of the race, keeping everything under control and then not ceding an inch to the three riders who managed to keep up with him in the head of the race.
The entire Emirati formation did a fantastic job, with Laengen keeping up an impressively constant pace along the final climb. Consonni was very efficient in pulling the group on the descents and Niemiec (who was subsequently 9th at the finish line) was relentless in picking off adversaries on the first part of the climb as they headed towards the arrival.
In the general classification, Ulissi has a 12″ advantage over Hansen.

“The climb was suited to my skills, this is why the team worked so hard to control the stage and carry me to the last climb in the best possible circumstances. The rhythm on the climb was very fast and this led to a strong selection. I was feeling good and I managed to seal the deal on the work that my team mates had done,” explained Ulissi. “Tomorrow I will wear the classification leader’s jersey; it would be great and gratifying to be able to wear it until the end of the race.”

Stage results stage 3
1 Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates) 5h36’03”
2 Jesper Hansen (Astana) 5″
3 Daniel Felipe Martinez (Wilier-Selle Italia) 9″

General classification after stage 3
1 Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates) 19h00’50”
2 Jesper Hansen (Astana) 12″
3 Fausto Masnada (Androni-Sidermec-Bottecchia) 24″