AT THE LEVEL OF TOUR DE FRANCE

The International Cycling Union category 2.1 bicycle race Tour d'Azerbaidjan 2016 dedicated to the memory of national leader Heydar Aliyev will yet again be remembered for the successful performance of Azerbaijani sportsmen.

As last year, the Azerbaijani athletes have become winners of this competition.

On the first day of the Tour, participants started at the National Flag Square, covered 154 km and finished in Sumqayit. The stage was won by Phil Bauhaus of Bora-Argon 18, a professional continental team from Germany. Second and third places were taken, respectively, by Scott Sunderland of Team Illuminate, the United States, and Luca Wackermann of the NASR Dubai team, the United Arab Emirates. Members of the Azerbaijani team Synergy Baku Ioannis Tamouridis, Maksym Averin, Matej Mugerli, Matija Kvasina, Kirill Pozdnyakov and Elcin Asadov completed the stage within the first peloton.

Maksym Averin, who will represent Azerbaijan at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics, won the second stage, being the first to cover 186.5 km from Baku to Ismayilli.

The runner-up was Markus Eibegger of Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels, who was on the Synergy Baku roster last season. Alberto Cecchin of Swiss Pro Continental Team Roth made up the podium.

At this stage, Matej Mugerli finished ninth, with Matija Kvasina 13th and Kirill Pozdnyakov 16th. This result allowed Synergy Baku to rise to the top of the team standings.

The third stage of the bicycle race was also successful for the Azerbaijani team, as the winner was another Synergy Baku member, Matej Mugerli.

Mugerli was ahead of a pack of 13 cyclists who crossed the finish line together with him. Markus Eibegger of Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels was again the runner-up, as the day before, while Luca Wackermann of the NASR Dubai team, the UAE, was third.

On the fourth day of the race, participants in the Tour d'Azerbaidjan 2016, after covering 115.3 km, crossed the finish line in front of the Ministry of Taxes Training Centre located in the settlement of Pirqulu.

This mountainous stage saw Italian athlete Luca Wackermann of the UAE's NASR Dubai team outsprinting a small group of 3 people who finished together with him. The second place went to Nikita Stalnov of Astana City, Kazakhstan. Italian rider Rinaldo Nocentini of Sporting Tavira, Portugal, made up the top three.

As for the Synergy Baku members, Matija Kvasina finished eighth, with Maksym Averin 19th, Kirill Pozdnyakov 22nd and Matej Mugerli 26th.

After four stages, Synergy Group's blue jersey awarded to the leader in the general classification was won by Markus Eibegger of Team Felbermayr, Austria, who came second on two stages and fourth on the last one. Matija Kvasina, Maksym Averin, Kirill Pozdnyakov and Matej Mugerli of Synergy Baku were respectively eighth, 13th, 15th and 20th on this list.

The fifth and final stage stretching for 158 km and running through the streets of Baku started and finished on the Azadliq Square. Losing 1 minute 21 seconds to Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels before this stage, Synergy Baku demonstrated team spirit that ultimately brought about an excellent result. Not only the domestic cyclists had been able to eliminate the gap, but they also managed to outstrip Team Felbermayr by 7 minutes 14 seconds.

Consequently, the bicycle race is notable for the championship of Azerbaijan's continental team Synergy Baku.

With regard to the individual results, the stage victory was claimed by German rider Michael Schwarzmann of Bora-Argon 18. Second place went to Alberto Cecchin of Pro Continental Team Roth, Switzerland, while third to Daniel Schorn of Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels, Austria.

As for Synergy Baku members, Maksym Averin, who showed the same time as the stage winner, finished fourth, Matej Mugerli eighth and Ioannis Tamouridis ninth.

Based on the results of the five stages, Synergy Group's blue jersey awarded to the leader in the general classification was retained by Markus Eibegger of Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels. Synergy Baku riders Matija Kvasina, Maksym Averin, Kirill Pozdnyakov and Matej Mugerli were ranked, respectively, eighth, 13, 14 and 17 on this list.

SOCAR's green jersey awarded to the best sprinter also went to a member of Austria's Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels, Daniel Schorn. Ildar Arslanov of Russia's Gazprom-Rusvelo won Ataholding's purple jersey as the best young rider. AZAL's red jersey was awarded to Thomas Lebas of Bridgestone Anchor Cycling Team from Japan as the mountain stage winner. AzVIF's jersey to be awarded to the best rider of the Azerbaijani team went to Maksym Averin.

Awards were presented by vice-president of the Cycling Federation of Azerbaijan and chairman of the Tour's organizing committee Sahib Alakbarov and vice-president of the European Cycling Union Aleksandr Gusyatnikov.

As the technical director of the Tour d'Azerbaijan 2016, Honorary Secretary General of the European Cycling Union Roland Hofer expressed satisfaction with the work done and praised the organization of the competition: "I am completely satisfied with the conditions created for athletes. Indeed, while making a comparison last year, I noted that possibilities provided to cyclists at the Tour d'Azerbaijan were superior to those offered at the Tour de France. I still remain of the same opinion. The conditions were at a high level. Athletes were accommodated in very beautiful hotels in Baku and Qabala. Even weather conditions, which are beyond our control, were excellent. It was raining a little but that did not create any problems for us. We witnessed stiff competition from the very first day".

Speaking to R+, vice-president of the Cycling Federation of Azerbaijan and chairman of the Tour d'Azerbaijan 2016 organizing committee Sahib Alakbarov also expressed satisfaction with the outcome: "This is a victory of Azerbaijan. The competition was held in an atmosphere of hot contest staged by teams from many countries. Azerbaijan is already used to hosting major events. I wish to note the support of our president Ilham Aliyev. The head of state is continuously taking great care of sport. It is no accident that a very small number of countries in the world are willing to stage cycling competitions. Azerbaijan has no problem in this regard, and we solved immediately any small problems that appeared locally. As for the result, I am very pleased with our athletes. Most importantly, the day is ours".