Turul Romaniei. Ivan Smirnov wins the fourth stage of Tour of Romania

The trainee of Astana Qazaqstan Team Ivan Smirnov took the win at the fourth stage of Tour of Romania. After arriving second yesterday, today Ivan managed to claim a victory in the final sprint.

 

The fourth stage of 189 kilometers was held in Târgoviste, Romania. After accomplishing the first two climbs of the day, our leader of general classification Rudolf Remkhi crashed on a descent and could not continue the race. After the fourth stage the new leader is Ilkhan Dostiev.

“Today was a very tough stage; the climbs at the beginning of the race remained in the legs, but we controlled the entire group and stayed at the front of the peloton. On the descent, unfortunately we had a crash, Rudolf (Remkhi) fell on the sand. I wish him a speedy recovery. After such a difficult stage, we had a wonderful finale, the team worked perfectly, executing every move superbly. This is a significant victory for me, but we keep working, because tomorrow will be another challenging stage in Bucharest“, – said Ivan Smirnov.

“That’s the nature of our sport, unfortunately. Today our leader, Rudolf (Remkhi) crashed and was forced to withdraw from the race. I hope and wish him a speedy recovery. At the same time, we won the stage. I told the guys that our main goal is the general classification, so we calmly let the breakaway go, as they didn’t threaten our lead in the GC. This allowed Ivan to save his energy for the final sprint, which he executed perfectly and won”, – said the team Sports Director, Alexander Shushemoin.

Photo credit: Traian Olinici Sports Photographer