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Almas Cingur wins his second Ceribian Tour
By Richard W. Wallace
Published: Nueva 28, 1592


Almas Cingur won his second Ceribian Tour after finishing second in the Tour de Valland.


Etora, Ceribia - Last year winner Almas Cingur (KyrzAir) won with authority his second Ceribian Tour, proving to be the best climber in the Ceribian mountains. The last time a rider had won the Ceribian Tour twice in a row was in 1568, when Vallish climber Jean-Claude Debussy won his fourth Grand Tour that year.

The 1592 Ceribian Tour started with a flat stage, predictably ended in a mass sprint. Adwestene sprinter Kiel Albert Fyfe (Tyrus-Empire) defeated Ander Vitecz (Druzhberg Cycling) and Mordvanian Miroslav Gradishar (Iskra Team) to win the stage and be the first golden jersey this Ceribian Tour. On stage 2, a 19-km TTT was expected to bring the first changes in the general classification. Although the stage did not cause big differences in the general classification, Vançotte won the stage and Hippolyte La Chapelle was the new leader of the general classification.

The next day the Ceribian Tour entered in Assarian territory with two demanding hilly stages. On stage 3, the winner was decided in a mass sprint. Vallish sprinter Antoine Duchesnay (Vançotte) defeated Filip Nauer (Druzhberg) and Frederik de Jong (Anzcell-RIFF) to win the stage -his first in a Grand Tour- to take the golden jersey.

On stage 4, Strathaen Sechnall MacCeallaigh (United Strathae) and 1591 Ceribian Tour winner Almas Cingur (KyrzAir) surprised joining the breakaway in the last part of the stage, showing their ambition after their best year in the Tour de Valland, in which Cingur was second and the Strathaen climber was third in the final podium. MacCeallaigh will attack in the final kilometre, leaving behind Florinthian Darren Goldrick (AHN-Motobank), Adwestene Gerry Bowes-Heeley (Tyrus-Empire), and Kyrzbekistani Blerim Mavraj and Almas Cingur (KyrzAir) to win the stage, his fourth stage in a Ceribian Tour. The young Alain Gasquet (Vançotte) was the new leader of the general classification, keeping the golden jersey with a comfortable lead until stage 8.

The sprinters had new chances the next two days, which the peloton took calmly. On stage 5, Antoine Duchesnay won his second stage, in a very competitive first week for his team, in which they won three stages and kept the golden jersey for seven of eight days. He easily defeated Strathaen  Aonghus Éamon Tadg (United Strathae) and Mordvania Rein Warma (Iskra Team) to take the provisional Points classification jersey as well. On stage 6, Kiel Albert Fyfe (Tyrus-Empire) won his second stage as well, defeating Anders Mikkelsen (Luft Wurberg) and Florinthian Sav Jacobs (Dido-Great Life) in a close sprint. Fyfe recovered the Points classification jersey, which he kept until the final day in Etora.

Stage 7 was a long individual time-trial stage, won by Didier de Cromm (Druzhberg Cycling). Alain Gasquet consolidated his lead in the general classification, with thirty-one seconds over Xavier de Molinari (NDM Cycling). Stage 8, a hilly stage although decided in a mass sprint, Ander Vitecz (Druzhberg) defeated Sav Jacobs (Dido-Great Life) and Aonghus Éamon Tadg (United Strathae) to give his team a second stage in a row.

The first mountain arrived on stage 9, which ended in a solitary but long climb. Goldecian Caleb Foster (Ogo Cycling) won the stage after a strong attack in the final kilometres. His teammate Inderjeet Sessions was the new leader of the general classification. Ronald Frazer (Dido-Great Life) was second at only six seconds, and Florinthian David Hayward (Télecon Team) was third at forty-four seconds. Alain Gasquet dropped to the fourth place at fifty-nine seconds.

Stage 10, which included several hills in the last 50 kilometres, proved to be uncontrollable for sprinters' teams. Romain Poquelin (Télecon Team) broke the race with a final attack. Adwestene Varchar Mellent (Tyrus-Empire) outpaced Poquelin and Max Marceau (NDM Cycling) to win the stage. Stage 11, a flat stage decided in a mass sprint, was won by Florinthian James McCabe (Dido-Great Life), who defeated Ander Vitecz (Druzhberg Cycling) and Kiel Albert Fyfe in a close sprint.

Stage 12 was also decided in a mass sprint. Oslanburgan Sven-Ole Wieth (Scholden-Gulcron) defeated Sav Jacobs (Dido-Great Life) and Ilsat Alimur (KyrzAir) to win the stage. However, Inderjeet Sessions was involved in a crash 18 km before the finish, losing nearby one minute. Ronald Frazer (Dido-Great Life) was the new leader of the general classification.

Mountain returned on stage 13, in which Ogo Cycling and KyrzAir teams were specially active in breaking the race in the final kilometres. Kyrzbekistani Kazbek Noorhamatur won the stage after defeating Gehennan Jan Daxenberger in the final metres. Almas Cingur (KyrzAir), who finished third on the stage, was the new leader of the general classification. Inderjeet Sessions, in a good performance despite his bad luck the previous day, was second at fifty-one seconds. Hippolyte La Chapelle (Vançotte) was third at one minute and two seconds, while Florinthian Ronald Frazer was now fourth at one minute and eight seconds.

The peloton took stage 14 more calmly until the last climb, in which the main group was reduced to fifteen riders. Although the final climb was not as complicated, the attacks started as soon as the last riders from the breakaway were about to get caught. Eskkyan Pierre Bonchamps (BataVelo) defeated Ceribian Mukhran Chavchavadze (Magram) and Vallish climber Benoît Montfleury (Télecon) to win the stage. The Eskkyan climber proved again that he was probably a too irregular rider for the general classification, but very competitive in the final kilometres in this kind of climb. Ronald Frazer, Tamaz Chkheidze (Bagdati), and La Chapelle were able to leave Cingur behind, improving a few seconds in the general classification. In general, however, there were not important differences in the general classification. Hippolyte La Chapelle (Vançotte) was second at fifty-two seconds, while Frazer was third at fifty-four seconds. Benoît Montfleury climbed to the fourth place at two minutes and fifty-seven seconds, followed by Tamaz Chkheidze at three minutes and seventeen seconds.

Stage 15, a medium-montain stage, proved to bring more action and changes in the general classification. Ronald Frazer and Benoît Montfleury surprised Cingur attacking in the descend, finding cooperation in Oslanburgan Jonathan Geissler (ZMG-Nissen) and other riders who were looking for a stage win. Florinthian Sav Jacobs (Dido-Great Life) won the stage, defeating easily the others rider in the breakaway. Cingur saw reduced his lead in the general classification to only fourteen seconds, while La Chapelle dropped to the third place. Montfleury was now fourth at one minute and twenty seconds, while Geissler climbed to the seventh place in the general classification.

Keszarian sprinter Kárdas Nyíregyházi (NDM) won the stage 16, defeating Florinthian James McCabe (Dido-Great Life) and Aonghus Éamon Tadg (United Strathae) in mass sprint, without changes in the general classification.

After the second rest day, a 28-km individual time-trial in which, although the stage included a small hill, Cingur was expected to find difficult to defend the golden jersey, as he had only fourteen seconds ahead of Ronald Frazer (Dido-Great Life). The stage was won by Hanes Vincent (Druzhberg). There were no surprises and Ronald Frazer was the new leader of the general classification, with Cingur keeping at least the second position at one minute and nine seconds. La Chapelle was third at one minute and nineteen seconds, and Benoît Montfleury was fourth at one minute and forty-seven seconds.

On stage 18, Ronald Frazer soon discovered that his team was not prepared to control a high mountain race in the last week of three-week cycling race. David Hayward (Télecon Team) launched a faraway attack, connecting with several riders from the breakaway, including Nerysian champion Wulf Käufer. Frazer couldn't resist attacks by Almas Cingur and Sechnall MacCeallaigh, dropping from the main group, reduced to four riders in the last climb: Cingur, MacCeallaigh, Tamaz Chkheidze, and Aivars Helmanis. David Hayward defeated Wulf Käufer (Luft Wurberg) to win the stage and climb to the fourth place in the general classification. Almas Cingur retook the golden jersey, while Frazer lost more than three minutes to the Kyrzbekistani climber. Ceribian Tamaz Chkheidze (Bagdati) was second now, at two minutes and one second, and Frazer completed the podium at two minutes and twenty-six seconds, one day before the final high mountain stage.

Stage 19 did not see much action before the final climb, as the main group -reduced to fifteen riders- was led by KyrzAir. The fight for the podium soon opened, as Frazer dropped from the group in the first kilometres of the climb. Aivars Helmanis (Nenergo Cycling) attacked the main group to catch Zeljko Bratansek (Mordveno) and Goldecian Daniel Upton Steele (Ogo Cycling) in the final kilometres. Almas Cingur took a more defensive tactic, resisting all attacks until the last kilometres, and only losing eight seconds to Montfleury and five seconds to Tamaz Chkheidze (Bagdati) who was runner-up for second time. David Hayward lost more than a minute, saving the podium for merely four seconds.

Almas Cingur (KyrzAir) therefore had not problems to defend the golden jersey and to win his second Ceribian Tour - becoming the first Kyrzbekistani rider to win two Grand Tours. Cingur finished his best season in the best way, after being runner-up in the Tour de Valland and winning the Mordvanian Week and the Criterium the Ventmont early this season. Tamaz Chkheidze (Bagdati) was second at one minute and fifty-six seconds. Not Ceribian rider had finished twice in the podium since 1568, although many fans expected a more offensive tactic in the last two high mountain stages. Florinthian David Hayward (Télecon Team) finished third at four minutes and eleven seconds, his second Gran Tour after finishing third as well in the 1591 Tour de Valland. His teammate Benoît Monfleury ended fourth at four minutes and twenty-five seconds. Although Montfleury and Hayward are said to be in good terms, the result and the strategy of the Vallish team would probably increase the debate about who should be the team leader in the next season.

Caleb Foster (Ogo Cycling) ended fifth at five minutes and seventeen seconds, winning both the Mountain and Youth classification. 1589 Ceribian Tour winner Jose Cardoso (MTS-Biassoni) was sixth at five minutes and thirty-three seconds. Frazer, who ended losing more than three minutes, dropped to the final tenth position in the general classification.

The final stage 20, for third time in a row, ended in the capital city of Etora, was won by Batavian Frederik de Jong (Anzcell-RIFF), defeating Filip Nauer (Druzhberg), Aonghus Éamon Tadg (United Strathae), and Miroslav Gradishar (Mordvelo), to win his 10th stage in a Ceribian Tour. Adwestene sprinter Kiel Albert Fyfe (Tyrus-Empire) was fifth, enough to secure his victory in the Points classification.