Davide Rebelin said that he had to be up in front in order to preserve his lead in the 51st Presidential Tour Of Turkey.
The CCC Sprandi Polkowice rider who finished in the top ten on stage five told the Tour Of Turkey Press Office: "It was a demanding day.
"The race route wasn't easy, and there were many attacks again today.
"We knew that the sprinters teams would work towards the end, given the characteristics of the stage finish. I didn't know the final, but I was told that it was uphill, so I wanted to be up front. I knew I had not to finish on the wrong side of any splits and lose time. So the main thing for me today was to stay up front."
Juan Pablo Valencia (Team Colombia), Mountains category leader said about the stage to the Tour of Turkey press office: "It was a complicated stage for me because at the start, I hoped to get into the breakaway group. I tried, but the group got away. Then, on the 2nd Category climb, I was a bit behind, so I called my team for help to get up for the GPM. But then a second group of 8 or 10 got away, and the MTN - Qhubeka got all 5 points. I’ll do everything I can to keep the jersey."
Carlos Barbero of Caja Rural - Seguros RGA who finished second on the stage said:"It was a hard stage, with plenty of wind and lots of hard climbing, so everyone arrived at the sprint at the limits of their powers. I was strong, although I lost to Modolo by a small margin. It’s a good result: the standard is very high here, with the best sprinters in the world, so a second place here really means something. Cavendish probably found all the climbing hard, which opened the stage up a bit, and I gave it everything."
Jay McCarthy of Tinkoff-Saxo, who was third in the stage said: "It’s a good day for me. We prepared the sprint for Michael Kolar, but he went a bit too soon. I followed the sprint just to see how my rivals were, and I followed one or two of them. I couldn't sprint as fast as Molodo but I’m on the podium and I'm happy with my good condition. I don’t think I used up too much energy in the final, and I can’t wait for tomorrow because the finish suits me even more than today."
Result, Stage 5 - Fethiye - Marmaris
1. Sacha Modolo (Lampre - Merida) 160 km in 4h06’19”, ave. speed 38.974 kmh
2. Carlos Barbero (Caja Rural - Seguros RGA) s.t.
3. Jay McCarthy (Tinkoff - Saxo) s.t.
4. Michael Kolar (Tinkoff - Saxo) s.t.
5. Manuel Belletti (Southeast) s.t.
General Classification
1. Davide Rebellin (CCC Sprandi Polowice)
2. Kristijan Durasek (Lampre - Merida) at 22s
3. Eduardo Sepúlveda (Bretagne - Séché Environnement) at 54s
4. Jay McCarthy (Tinkoff - Saxo) at 1m20s
5. Serge Pauwels (MTN - Qhubeka) at 1m38s
Jerseys
Turquoise, sponsored by Spor Toto (General Classification): Davide Rebellin (CCC Sprindi Polowice)
Green, Salcano (Points): Sacha Modolo (Lampre - Merida)
Red, Turkish Airlines (Mountains): Juan Pablo Valencia (Team Colombia)
White, Vestel (Beauties of Turkey): Lluis Mas (Caja Rural - Seguros RGA)
Source: DSG
