A historic first edition with a thrilling stage. It is Polish rider Michal Pomorski (ATT Investments) who claims the inaugural stage of the brand new Tour of Armenia in 2'34"47 (with the impressive average speed of 52.331 km/h), outsprinting his breakaway companions Fletcher Medway (Netcompany INEOS Racing Academy) and Alexandre Balmer (Solution Tech NIPPO Rali). The 135 kilometers from Gavar to Mets Masrik, skirting the splendid Lake Sevan, could have seemed like a straightforward run to the finish line, but the fact that the entire stage was at altitude made it truly intense from the very start.
Sunshine and postcard-perfect weather in the center of Gavar municipality (1979 meters altitude), where the 16 participating teams were presented with Armenia's Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan giving the start to this inaugural edition of a race that aims to establish itself permanently on the UCI Europe Tour circuit.
A fierce battle from kilometer zero and a large breakaway of twenty riders, which quickly gained significant advantage. Sustained speed and no respite, with the altitude making the effort of the attackers even more intense. At 13.5 km from the finish, Australian Medway attempted a downhill attack, dragging along Polish rider Pomorski and Swiss rider Balmer.
The three, after working together until the final kilometer, played everything out in the last few hundred meters, with the twenty-three-year-old from ATT Investments burning his breakaway companions at the Mets Masrik finish line, also securing the orange points jersey along with the overall leader's red jersey. The generous Medway consoled himself with the white jersey for best young rider. The main group arrived more than ten minutes behind the 18 riders who remained in the breakaway: therefore, this first stage already had significant weight in terms of the overall classification.
THE OFFICIAL TOUR OF ARMENIA JERSEYS CREATED BY ALÉ CYCLING
Red Jersey, leader of the General Classification, Pomorski (ATT Investments)
Orange Jersey, leader of the Points Classification, Pomorski (ATT Investments)
White Jersey, leader of the Young Riders Classification, Medway (Netcompany INEOS Racing Academy)
Just moments after crossing the finish line and donning the inaugural Red Jersey of the Tour of Armenia, stage winner and new overall leader Michal Pomorski stated: "It was extremely tough today, because with the altitude it was difficult to breathe, and we were all going flat out from the start, but I'd say it went great. There were five Polish riders in the breakaway, including my ATT Investments teammate Tomasz Budzinski: I was targeting the stage and he was targeting the classification. Despite being at almost 2000 meters, it was a very fast stage, we didn't even have time to admire the splendid scenery surrounding us. The last twenty kilometers seemed to never end, we were all breathless, but I was confident in the sprint and it worked out well. I'm very happy with both the victory and the red jersey, now I'll try to help Tomasz in the mountain stages and hopefully we can get some more great results".
Stage 2: Kirants-Stepanavan (177 km, 2400 meters of elevation gain)
There is plenty of terrain for attackers in the second stage from Kirants to Stepanavan, with 2400 meters of elevation gain over the 177 km planned. The start is from the tiny village in the Tavush region, famous for its 7th-century Monastery, and arrives in the mountain town famous for its splendid basalt plateau and its unique Dendropark in the entire South Caucasus, its forest transformed into a living botanical garden. The intermediate sprint will be located after 61.4 km, while the first of the mountain prizes is the Lermontov (1869 meters altitude) after 81.5 km. The two subsequent climbs will be Odzun (at km 141) and Mghart (km 153.5): at that point, 23.5 km will remain to the finish. Very technical finale in the town center of Stepanavan.
STAGE RESULTS
1. Pomorski Michał (ATT Investments) in 2:34:47
2. Medway Fletcher (Netcompany INEOS Racing Academy)
3. Balmer Alexandre (Solution Tech NIPPO Rali)+
4. Maślak Piotr (Voster Team) at 0:17
5. Frydkjær Patrick Boje (Lidl - Trek Future Racing)
6. Carollo Francesco (Swatt Club)
7. Raccani Simone (Team UKYO)
8. Mishankov Maksim (Mg.K Vis Costruzioni e Ambiente)
9. Covili Luca (Bardiani CSF 7 Saber)
10. Budziński Tomasz (ATT Investments)
1
1
20
20
8
8
13
13
Ritratti
Oscar
Albi d'Oro
