ProTeam 6th and 7th place for Lotto Dstny in Istanbul: “Unfortunately, we couldn’t catch those 3 leaders.”

Stage two of the Tour of Istanbul, with both the start and finish in Åžile, was again marked by particularly hot conditions. The temperature rose above 35 degrees today, even hotter than yesterday. “Luckily, we start early here,” Milan Menten says. “Because it’s really hot. Today’s stage was also quite tough, with lots of elevation gain.”

In the final, it was Liam Slock who, along with five others, stayed ahead of the peloton. However, with three kilometers to go, Slock had to drop back, leaving three riders out front. “I broke away on the last climb with two others, but unfortunately, those three remained ahead, and we couldn’t catch them anymore,” Menten summarizes the race. “Looking back, there might have been more in it, but for now, we’re still holding fifth and sixth in the overall standings, which isn’t bad. We’re here with a mixed team – including three riders from our development team – and those guys are very motivated and racing well. So, we’ll try to defend our positions in the coming days, and I hope to grab a stage win on Sunday.”