The “Israel Premier Tech” cycling team has been declared the winner of the column in Turkey with New Zealand rider Patrick Bowen, after the final stage was stopped about 25 kilometers after the jump following a rainstorm that caused many crashes and endangered the riders’ peace.
This is the first victory of “Israel Premier Tech” in a multi-stage race this season, and the first time that the Israeli team wins in Turkey. “This is a moment that fills us all with great pride,” said owner Sylvan Adams, “A blue and white victory in Turkey is a perfect expression of the spirit of this team and what it represents. We are on the map.”
The Israeli team (with Itamar Einhorn and Guy Niv in the lineup) has demonstrated great dominance since the beginning of the eight-stage race and fought for victories every day when in the fourth stage, Wayne placed second in the overall standings. From that moment on the team ran an aggressive race to put pressure on the column leader and it succeeded when Bowen’s great escape ended in victory in the seventh stage and gave him the leader’s shirt with 20 seconds “in hand”.
The team jumped this morning (Sunday) to the last stage to secure the victory in the column, but in the end the organizers had to stop the race about 25 km after the jump on the streets of Istanbul and thus the victory received the final and official stamp.
The big victory in Turkey will give the team many points in the ranking of the top world round and give it a moral boost after two difficult months, full of injuries and Corona in which many of the riders were infected – the last of which was Guy Niv who had to retire in the middle of the column. “This victory is a big step forward. I hope and believe that we will achieve many more victories,” Adams concluded.