Filippo Ridolfo Secures Season’s Best Result in Turkey

Stage 3 of the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey marked a season-best performance for Filippo Ridolfo, as the young Italian sprinted to an impressive 10th place. Earlier in the race, Ridolfo was the driving force behind the breakaway on stage 1 and was only caught with 15km to go – an early sign of strong form.

Today, the 23-year-old showed remarkable grit and determination, surviving a series of short, steep climbs and relentless attacks in the final to contest the sprint from a heavily reduced peloton.

A seven-rider breakaway formed early in the stage, and although Filippo initially aimed to be part of it, he quickly adapted when he missed the move.

Filippo Ridolfo:

“It was a really good day. The plan was for me to get into the breakaway, but the start was tough and the move went on a small climb where I just couldn’t hold on. I switched the plan to support Matyas and Andrea, but the first part of the race stayed fairly straightforward until about 60km to go, when the road began to rise with some very steep climbs.

The steepest was around 40km from the finish. At the top, Matyas, Alessandro and I lost contact with the front group, but thankfully we managed to regroup on the descent. I checked in with Matyas to see how he was feeling, and when he said he wasn’t great, we both focused on surviving and seeing who could stay with the leaders.

I was right on the limit, but Matyas shouted over the radio for me to go for it. I gave everything I had to hang on and contest the sprint. I didn’t have the best legs, but getting a top 10 for the team means a lot- I’m really happy with that.”