Alexey Lutsenko takes home overall victory at Tour of Turkey: "It was not easy to protect the jersey"

Astana Qazaqstan Team has successfully accomplished its mission at the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey, taking the victory in the final General Classification of the race. After taking the leader jersey on Stage 3 atop Babadag, the Kazakh champion Alexey Lutsenko was able to protect it during the next five days, getting a nice triumph in historical city center of Istanbul.

"I am super happy with this win! It was not easy to protect the jersey during almost the whole week, but I had a great team next to me and with these guys everything became possible. The Babadag stage was a brutal one, and I am happy and proud I could win it. Then, during the next days together with the team we did all possible to defend our lead and to take this win."

"This is the nicest end of the season for the team but also for me. It is cool to finish a tough season with this success. Some years ago, I was close to a win here in Turkey, but finished second. Coming here this year I was super motivated to do it better, I was focusing on the result, I got a top form for and after the Asian Games and together with my teammates we finally won it," expressed Lutsenko in his team's press release.