Yesterday, Ivaïlo Gabrovski could finally celebrate his victory at the 2012 Tour of Turkey and said that he would like to join a ProTeam next year at the age of 35. Ten years ago, he spent one season in the Jean Delatour team, which was at the highest international level, Trade Team 1, in 2002. But since then, he has spent his career in smaller teams.

“If I get a chance to join a ProTeam, of course I’ll go for it," Gabrovski told Cyclingnews. “I’m looking for the best contract. I’m open to any proposal. Right now, nobody came and talked to me about it. This is a great victory for [Turkish continental team] Konya Torku Seker Spor. I’m proud that my arrival into this team helped to grow it.

"This is my second win at the Tour of Turkey," Gabrovski said.

The Bulgarian won the Presidential race in 2007. It was one year before the event moved up to the big league of cycling. Quite fun though that the overall winner is from the Continental level and not a ProTeam.

“My victory is not a surprise," Gabrovski said. “It’s the result of hard work. I’ve been a cyclist since I was eight years old. I’ve been a pro for 15 years. I don’t have a normal life like other guys or girls. Now I smile to the public because I share my victory with all Turkish people but I have a difficult life. I’m a serious guy. This is one of the biggest exploits of my cycling career.”

Many teams are hoping to get a WorldTour licence in 2012 and those teams will look for riders who has performed well and therefore has received some points. That's how Gabrovski could find himself in the WorldTour next year.

Like last season, some riders who had performed at .HC races in Asia was suddenly part of ProTour teams, like Iranians Amir Zargari and Mehdi Sohrabi, Russia’s Boris Shpilevsky and Slovenia’s Grega Gazvoda. So who knows, maybe next year, we will see Gabrovski a lot more in Europe.