Tour de Azerbaijan

wombly_knees
wombly_knees Posts: 657
edited May 2013 in Pro race
Everyone's, or at least Eurosport's, favourite race!

It started off as an U23 race last year and was called, rather ridiculously, the Heydar Aliyev anniversary tour of Azerbaijan. Political name's been hacked off since then.

The winner of the first edition, Youcef Reguigui, has moved on to MTN.

Might not want to open this unless you have a weird fetish for torn off buttocks
http://media-cache-ec3.pinimg.com/550x/ ... 2acbdc.jpg
That's Ed Bissaker last year demonstrating that rosy cheeks aren't always attractive after crashing on a descent at 70kmph and sliding on it for 30 metres. He finished the stage and the race.

Jez Hunt's team bagged the opening stage through Christoph Schweizer. Mustafa Sayar is in this race
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Jakx1jl4H4

In sixth came Florian Scheit, and I have a minute to share for him. If not for anything else, just for being called Florian Scheit.

Comments

  • wombly_knees
    wombly_knees Posts: 657
    "Mustafa Sayar is in this race"

    Scratch that. He trots out of the race.
  • Richmond Racer
    Richmond Racer Posts: 8,561
    Mustafa sudden withdrawal...

    Now WHY have I never head anything about this race, Eurosport....

    PS
    And yay for Jez Hunt's 1st win from the team car
  • wombly_knees
    wombly_knees Posts: 657
    It's Baku's third win actually. Sheep Rico Rogers' was the team's first, in Thailand, and Pozdnyakov won in Taiwan.
  • Richmond Racer
    Richmond Racer Posts: 8,561
    wombly knees wrote:
    It's Baku's third win actually. Sheep Rico Rogers' was the team's first, in Thailand, and Pozdnyakov won in Taiwan.


    You're right but not sure that Jez was in the car for the first 2 - read that this is his first

    Thank god there are no radios in these races - there's no way they'd understand his orders... :)
  • wombly_knees
    wombly_knees Posts: 657
    Richmond Racer wrote:
    wombly knees wrote:
    It's Baku's third win actually. Sheep Rico Rogers' was the team's first, in Thailand, and Pozdnyakov won in Taiwan.


    You're right but not sure that Jez was in the car for the first 2 - read that this is his first

    Thank god there are no radios in these races - there's no way they'd understand his orders... :)
    Ah, cheers. Assumed he'd have been on them as they are quite a tiny team.

    Anuar Manan, one of their top sprinters, would heave a sigh of relief at working under Hunt. He's quite the twit when it comes to taking orders.
  • mroli
    mroli Posts: 3,622
    Dan Craven rides for Baku right? I like him...
    http://www.georgesfoundation.org
    http://100hillsforgeorge.blogspot.com/
    http://www.12on12in12.blogspot.co.uk/
  • wombly_knees
    wombly_knees Posts: 657
    Aye, had rather amusing updates from the Olympic village.

    Seems Serhiy Grechin of Konya torku went batshit today, at least according to the tour's website. Won convincingly.
  • deejay
    deejay Posts: 3,138
    Richmond Racer wrote:

    Now WHY have I never head anything about this race, Eurosport....
    Why because it's a little place in ASIA and the far side of Turkey and borders IRAN.
    Another UCI idiotic representation.
    Organiser, National Championship 50 mile Time Trial 1972
  • wombly_knees
    wombly_knees Posts: 657
    Why idiotic? It's only a .2 rated stage race. Chippiest chipper on the chipper scale with no pressure on any team from any nation to make an entry. In fact, these races are quite well supported in Asia (or at least the target markets for base development). Brunei is well supported and organised, far better than most French, Italian or Spanish chippers (.2 rated chippers). Might as well branch out than depend solely on two flagging economies for its survival. And sure it's not

    Vitaliy Popov won stage 3, Grechin still leads. Merwahi Kudus, the next Eritrean talent, has been rather crapulent.
    Stage 2
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpcYHhifuj4

    Stage 3
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drBHLs--40Y

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