Sunday, October 2, 2022

ROUTE: Sare’in-Tabriz, 198 km.

The 4^th stage in the 35^th Iran (Azerbaijan) Cycling Tour started from Sare’in to Tabriz at 11:00 local time on Sunday, October 2, 2022. The 58 riders rode about 3 kilometers, a neutral ride to the Stop & Start line on the Ardebil Tabriz road.

Immediately after the Start, three riders including MUHAMMAD Danieal Haikkal, CHAICHIRAGHIMI Mohammad Esma and MOUSAZADEHJABDARAGHAI Aliasghar ran in a breakaway attempt ahead of the peloton and made the leading group with a space of 5 minutes from the peloton. The riders in the peloton were obviously under the absolute dominance of the Iran National Team Riders. The Iranian riders decided the speed of the peloton and helped their teammate, CHAICHI, ride while taking draft.

The crosswind blew all along the race from the right side. The mild breeze and the gusts hindered the velocity of the race. The three riders in the leading group won both of the sprints and the mountain climb. They crossed over the sprint line in the following order:

1. MUHAMMAD Danieal Haikkal (53, RJC-ROOJAI CYCLING TEAM)
2. CHAICHIRAGHIMI Mohammad Esma (114, Iran National Team)
3. MOUSAZADEHJABDARAGHAI Aliasghar (85, Islamic Azad University)

The space between the head team and the peloton decreased and Ganjkhanlou replaced Mousazadeh in the leading group and these three were the winners of the 1^st Mountain Race at 139 km:

1. MUHAMMAD Danieal Haikkal (53, RJC-ROOJAI CYCLING TEAM)
2. CHAICHIRAGHIMI Mohammad Esma (114, Iran National Team)
3. GANJKHANLOU Mohammad (82, Islamic Azad University)

The three leading riders collected good points for themselves on the sprints and mountain climbs and were all encouraged to win the last stage of the race if they had already lost the battle to be the champion of the overall race. However, helped by his teammates in the TABRIZ ISLAMIC AZAD UNIVERSITY team, GANJKHANLOU, who had scored one stage victory in his Tour battle, was forcing his energy forth to be the champion of the Tour. However, the last 4 kilometers of the race introduced other results.

Only 30 kilometers to the Finish Line, there was unexpected runaways in the race. Ganjkhanlou and BUDIAK Anatoli did a breakaway toward the Finish Line. Later, the peloton covered the space, each rider trying to win the race in the 4^th stage. The highly steep slope on the last 4 kilometers of the race dispersed the peloton. After the first kilometer was passed, four riders including SAFARZADEH Saeid, BUDIAK Anatoli, POURSEYEDIGOLAKHOR Mir Samad and MARCHAND Gianni ran in a breakaway attempt ahead of the other riders to pass the Finish line in the following oerder:

          Stage 4 Classification

1. SAFARZADEH Saeid (31, ARVICH SHARGH OMIDNIA, Iran)
2. BUDIAK Anatoli (2, TERENGGANU POLYGON CY, Malaysia)
3. MARCHAND Gianni (102, TARTELETTO – ISOREX, Belgium)

The other winners of the stage were introduced as follows:

The YELLOW JERSEY:

• MARCHAND Gianni (102, TARTELETTO – ISOREX, Belgium)

The GREEN JERSEY:

• GANJKHANLOU Mohammad (82, Islamic Azad University)

POLKA JERSEY:

• SAFARZADEH Saeid (31, ARVICH SHARGH OMIDNIA, Iran)

The White Jersey (The Best Youngest Rider):

-         Labib Ali (81, TABRIZ ISLAMIC AZAD UNIVERSITY, IRAN)

The last 4 kilometers of the 4^th stage will be remembered many years by the riders and the spectators alike, because the steep slope lay from the bottom of a mountain to the top of it. The winding slope route is normally a recreational road for the people on Friday Holidays. The people waiting at the FINISH LINE were from the families of the riders from Tabriz, riding for the three Iranian teams.

The last stage of the Iran (Azerbaijan) Cycling Tour will be performed in a boulevard in Tabriz on Monday, October 3, 2022. The last stage can determine the winning individual rider and the champion team, since the collected scores are so close.

Writer: Abdullah Bageri Hamidi