This race has the potential to be quite interesting - just how will the 6-man Iranian Mercedes-Benz U23 team control the race, presumably looking to work for either Gilannipoor or Khalilikhosroshani. Petronas' Reza is missing, but look out for dangerman Mahdi Sohrabi as a rival for the Iran jersey. And as none of the U23 M-B riders are actually contracted to M-B, the Iranian champion is guaranteed to be a free agent!
Turkey are starting to have a real breakthrough into cycling. Hasta and Karagobek both signed as stagiares for Warner Bros, while Sayar is a stagiare for Wiggle. Only Sayar shows up today though, 2 free agents are his rivals.
Another Stagiare is Litpon's Armenian Grigrian. The only contracted Armenian, but Tigran Korkotyan, the Sprinter, did ride for Nespresso-Sportzone last year, while Sergey Sarkisov rode for Team Ultra Adventure.
Also in here are the two Azerbaijan free agents.
Its all together with 40km to go, Mercedes have been controlling things. And now Khalilikhosroshani applies some pressure, and rides away - soon gaining a 30 second gap
But Mahdi Sohrabi attacks, and with 25km to go, joins
Khalilikhosroshani
This has no impact on the Turkish champs, but in a show of strength, Wiggle's Sayar singlehandedly chased down the 30 second gap
And now with 15km to go, the pressure is on Sayar for real. Both of the other Turkish riders - Akgul and Akdilek - are attacking!
Akgul is caught, but Akdilek has a 30 second gap with 10km to go. This is when Sayar, Sohrabi, Khalilikhosroshani, and Armenian Sarkisov all simultaneously attack
They catch Akdilek, who struggles to match as them as Khalilikhosroshani leads further attacks - Sohrabi's sprint stat makes him a real danger
The Mercedes rider does seem to be getting away
But Sarkisov, Sohrabi and Sayar are all still here. Sarkisov will be Armenian champion, and Sayar Turkish champion - that much is certain now
Sarkisov leads off the sprint, but the focus is soon the Iranian battle.
Khalilikhosroshani has looked strongest, but can he somehow outsprint Sohrabi?
The answer is a resounding no. Mahdi Sohrabi takes the victory and the Iranian championships. He has spent this season out of contract having ridden for Acqua Sapone in 2010, Gatorade in 2009, and HealthNet in 2008 - is this what he needs to grab the attention of a team?
Becoming Turkish champion could also be good news for Sayar - will Wiggle now sign him up full time? Dissapointment for Khalilikhosroshani, but he has shown himself well aswell.
The Turk Akdilek is 5th, while Grigrian ends 6th. Is 2nd in the Armenian champs going to be enough to convince Lipton?
And somewhere in the pack behind, Asadov just beats Abbasov to be Azerbaijani champ.
