Rabottini takes first professional win in Fethiye

The successor to 2010 champion Giovanni Visconti as overall winner at the Presidential Tour of Turkey might well be an American. Thomas Peterson (Garmin-Cervélo) has taken a strong option as he was the highest ranked of the 10 breakaway riders who finished nearly 12 minutes ahead of the peloton in stage five between Denizli and Fethiye. The 24-year-old American leads Australia's Cameron Wurf (Liguigas-Cannondale) by 27 seconds while Russia's Alexander Efimkin (Team Type 1-Sanofi Aventis) slots into third, 29 seconds back.

Visconti's teammate Matteo Rabottini delivered a second stage win to Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli. "This is a surprise for me to win a stage at the Tour of Turkey. I came here for training, so winning is a great satisfaction," said the 23-year-old neo-pro who earned a start at the Giro d'Italia next week, as directeur sportif Luca Scinto informed Cyclingnews after the race. "To ride the pink race is the dream of every Italian boy, so if I get the call, it'll be a dream come true," Rabottini said before hearing the good news.

"It was a bit of a gamble to go clear so early this morning, after only twenty kilometres with all the wind and the hills coming up," said Rabottini, whose father Luciano won the 1986 Tirreno-Adriatico, racing for Vini Ricordi, so the two generations of cyclists have both garnered victories while racing in the colours of a wine producer as a title sponsor.

"Valentino Sciotti, the owner of Farnese Vini, is maybe the only person who has believed in me," Rabottini said. "I came out of a one-week break due to injuries, which is always a difficult time for an athlete. The motivation to perform was always there. I had told my dad to watch yesterday's stage on TV but at the end, I preferred to save energy for today's."

Rabottini was one of the nine riders who broke clear 20 kilometres after leaving Denizli. Four riders who had taken part in yesterday's major breakaway en route to Pamukkale went again after 20 kilometres of racing: Cameron Wurf (Liquigas-Cannondale), Andrey Zeits (Astana), Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) and Tom Peterson (Garmin-Cervélo). They attacked with Kenny De Haes (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Enrico Magazzini (Lampre-ISD), Matteo Rabottini (Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli), Ronan van Zandbeek (Skil-Shimano) and Eloy Ruiz Pinto (Andalucia-Caja Granada). De Haes went back to the bunch and was replaced in the front group by Alexander Efimkin (Team Type 1-Sanofi Aventis) and Lucas Euser (Team Spidertech Powered By C10).

"On the way, we started to believe in our chances of winning," Rabottini said. "Wurf and I tried to facilitate the work," Peterson echoed. "With the Astana rider [Andrey Zeits], we made the breakaway go."

The ten cyclists cruised along with an advantage of more or less 8:30 for most of the stage. The teams NetApp and Caja Rural started chasing too late at the head of the peloton.

Resignation was in the air of the peloton as the front group approached the last 30 kilometres. Only in the finale of the race did the breakaway riders begin to sort out who would prevail on the day. Efimkin attacked with 5km to go, but he was closely watched by his rivals. Ruiz Pinto was the next one to go clear but Rabottini passed him with great determination with 1km to go. Efimkin pursued Rabottini to the finish line but fell just short of catching the Italian.

"I've lost by very little after trying to go solo with 5km to go," Efimkin said. "I felt strong all day. Unfortunately, everyone in the front group was racing against me.

"I've tried. I thought it was a good thing to anticipate the sprint. I'm disappointed that I didn't win. I thought I was going to pass him [stage winner Rabottini]. To move up to third place overall isn't bad."

Team Type 1 general manager Vassili Davidenko added: "Efimkin is riding at about 80 percent of his top potential now. We sat down with him in December and plotted out a strategy to get him ready for big races in May, and next up for us is the Tour of California and Tour de Suisse."

Kenny De Haes (Omega Pharma-Lotto) led the peloton across the line 11:55 down on the break, all but ensuring that the general classification battle will be contested by those on the attack today.

"So I guess I have a good chance of winning the Tour of Turkey now," Peterson said. "I have to look at the road book for the remaining three stages, but my team is really strong. The guys around me are really good, so I'm confident my teammates can get me to the finish line.

"I feel like I'll probably end up winning the race. There are only five guys to really watch. It's been a long time since I won a stage at the Tour of California (2009). Hopefully I'll get another win with the overall classification here on Sunday."

Stage 6 from Fethiye to Finike (184km) includes a first category climb with 67km to go. Garmin-Cervélo probably has the depth to defend Peterson's jersey. Wurf's Liquigas-Cannondale team has been reduced to only four riders after the hard racing the cyclists encountered in the past few days on Turkish roads.