Tour of Sakarya. Martin Laas takes Stage 3 in bunch sprint

Astana Qazaqstan Team rider Martin Laas won Stage 3 of the Tour of Sakarya in Turkey.

Laas, representing Astana Qazaqstan Development Team in this race, was the strongest in the bunch sprint, bringing the debut success to our development team. 

“Actually, today all went as we planned before the stage. We knew that with only 4 climbs of just 2-km-long a bunch sprint at the finish was much expected. We tried to save as much energy as possible for the final and not to let a big breakaway to go too far away. After 30 km of racing there remained only one rider in the breakaway, so we just took control over the break to hold the gap. With the speed of the bunch increasing dramatically in the middle of the race with all these ups and downs we caught the lonely rider quite fast. Inside the final 15 km where was the last climb where the peloton went crazy again. Since in general it was an easy day for all in the peloton and everybody still was fresh, there were a lot of attacks, but my teammates did a perfect job to control all attacks and to keep a good pace enough to neutralize all these attempts”, – explained Martin Laas after the finish.

“With 10 km to go all the attacks were neutralized, the group rode in the high tempo and nobody could attack anymore. The last 3 km turned out to be a bit hectic, but we were well positioned and still controlled the situation. Inside the last 500 meters on the right corner there was an attack, but I was able to close it and to launch my sprint a bit later with some 300 meters to the line. With an uphill and some headwind, the finish turned out to be a tough one, however everything went well, and I won. I am really happy with this win, I felt good, and my team did a phenomenal job for me, so I want to thank all my teammates”, – added Martin Laas.