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By Amina Nazari
The Tour of Estonia, which is a part of the Europe Tour was held on May 29-30.
Ioannis Tamouridis finished second overall in the race. Synergy Baku Cycling Project’s Greek rider finished second on the first stage and 19th on the second stage of this 2.1 UCI-ranked race.
The second stage was a city circuit in Tartu, called the Tartu Grand Prix. It was 12 laps of a 12.5km course, with a climb on each lap. It ended with a mass sprint, in which the national cyclist Maksym Averin was eighth. Five of the team’s eight riders finished in the same time as the winner.
Azerbaijan’s Cycling Federation reports it was the fourth second place for Tamouridis this year. He finished second in stages of the Tour of Taiwan and Tour de Bretagne, as well as in the first stage in Estonia.
“Congratulations to Ioannis and the whole team,” said team manager David McQuaid. “We know that we will see ‘Tamo’ on the top step of the podium during this season. He has brought a lot to the team this year, both on and off the bike.”
The course is the one which will be used in the European Championships, open to U-23 riders, in August. “It is not a hard course but a very technical one,” said sport director Tomaz Poljanec. “This was a good experience and perhaps an eye-opener for our young riders.
Tamouridis who competes in Road and Track races, started his carrier in 1995.
Highlights of his earlier career include two medals in world track championships, in Points Races (Los Angeles 2005) and Scratch (Bordeaux 2006). He has won 4 medals in track world cup by 2006 and has more than 30 times become Greek national champion in all disciplines and all categories.
Tamouridis competed with Greek cycling team Sp Tableware between 2009 and 2012.
Since 2015 he has dressed the form of the Synergy Baku Cycling Project.