Bennett wins Stage 2 in Tour of Turkey, grabs turquoise jersey
ANTALYA
Ireland’s Sam Bennett won the second stage of the 54th Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey on Oct. 10, grabbing the turquoise jersey for the overall leader.
Bennett, who rides for the Bora-Hansgrohe team, won the 149.6 kilometer stage from Alnaya to Antalya in 3 hours 24 minutes and 37 seconds.
Colombian Alvaro Jose Hodeg Chagui, who rides for the Quick-Step Floors team, came in second, while Simone Consonni, an Italian cyclist riding for the UAE-Team Emirates, was third.
After two stages, Bennett leads the tour six seconds ahead of Argentinian Maximiliano Richeze of Quick-Step, who won the first stage on Oct. 9 in Konya.
Onur Balkan of the Turkish National Team was the first cyclşist through the “Beauties of Turkey” gate in front of the ancient city of Side and kept his white jersey.
Today’s Stage 3 will be a 132.7-kilometer race between the resort towns of Fethiye and Marmaris.
The Tour of Turkey was promoted to World Tour category and will reach a wide audience through broadcasts in more than 120 countries.
This year’s edition sees 20 teams from across the world, including the Turkish national team, race in the 950-kilometer, six-stage tour.
Organized by the Turkish Cycling Federation, the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey debuted in 1963 and became an international race two years later.
In the world’s only cycling tour to connect two continents, cyclists will also ride in Eurasia tunnel under the Bosphorus from Europe to Asia on the sixth and final stage on Oct. 14.
Nine “World Tour” teams, including Astana, Bahrain-Merida and BMC Racing, are among the 20 teams with 140 cyclists competing to win the turquoise jersey.
