ProTeam Two out of two: Mauro Cuylits takes overall victory at the Tour of Istanbul, Steffen De Schuyteneer sprints to final stage win

“It’s crazy what happened,” said an overjoyed Mauro Cuylits. “I came here to ride in support of our pros, but it all turned out completely differently. Having a pro team working for me is an incredible honor. What the guys have done for me is unbelievable. Today it was either me or Steffen (De Schuyteneer, ed.) who would sprint, but I felt I didn’t have enough. We made the right decision to back Steffen. He finished it off, and I take the overall win.”

Steffen De Schuyteneer indeed completed the party in Turkey by winning the final stage in Fatih. “Our main task was to make sure we finished ahead of Emilien Jeannière, otherwise he and Total Energies would have taken the overall,” explained De Schuyteneer. “At the same time, Giovanni Lonardi of Team Polti couldn’t win or place second, because then we would also have lost the GC. We executed perfectly. I hadn’t won yet this year, so this one feels really good.”

Mauro Cuylits is still part of the Lotto Development Team. With his stage victory on Friday and overall success in the Tour of Istanbul, he now has two wins in a UCI 2.1-level race. “All credit to the team, we played it perfectly. Now it’s time for a little celebration- but not too wild, because I have an exam tomorrow.”

Picture: Tour of Istanbul