Bevin declared winner of Tour of Turkey

ISTANBUL

New Zealand's Patrick Bevin from the Israel-Premier Tech team has been declared the winner of the 57th Tour of Turkey, after the latest Istanbul stage was canceled following an accident in the Kuzguncuk neighborhood due to rainy weather.

The eighth and the last 141-kilometer stage started early on April 17 in front of the Atatürk Cultural Center at the Taksim Square in the metropolis’ Beyoğlu district. A total of 149 cyclists from 25 teams from 14 countries were supposed to pass the July 15th Martyrs Bridge and reach Kadıköy on the Asian side of the city and go back to the finish line at the Taksim Square.

But, after passing the bridge, the cyclists crashed into each other at the 25th kilometer of the race in the district of Üsküdar’s Kuzguncuk neighborhood due to rainy weather.

Following the accident, authorities decided to end the event in front of the Berlerbeyi Palace on the Asian side’s coast.

With the approval of the Tour of Turkey administration, the Istanbul stage of the race was canceled.

Bevin, who overtook the lead from Argentinian cyclist Eduardo Sepulveda after winning Stage 7 in the northwestern province of Tekirdağ, was declared the winner of the general classification.

“Israel-Premier Tech is not in a favorable situation with regards to retaining its WorldTour license for next year, but Bevin hopes this win in Turkey will mark a turning point for the team,” prominent cycling media outlet cyclingnews.com reported.

Australian Jay Vine from the Alpecin-Fenix team was a runner-up, as Sepulveda from the Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli team was the third.
Turkish cyclist Mustafa Sayar from the Sakarya BB team finished the competition with the ninth spot.

Kasper Philipsen from Belgium celebrated the green sprint jersey, and Noah Granigan from the U.S. team Wildlife Generation Pro won the climbers’ red jersey. Batuhan Özgür from Sakarya BB team was the winner of the white jersey.

The 57th Tour of Turkey started on April 10 in the Aegean tourism hub Bodrum. The most challenging stage, the queen stage, was run on April 13 between İzmir and Mount Spil in the neighboring province of Manisa, with Sepulveda reaching the finish line.

The Turkish Cycling Federation has been organizing the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey since 1963, and initially, it was known as the “Marmara Tour.”

The tour gained international status for the first time in 1965 and was taken under the auspices of Presidential authority in 1966.

The broadcast of the race reached some 700 million households across the globe, according to an official statement by the Tour of Turkey administration.