Lutsenko claims victory in Tour of Türkiye
ISTANBUL
The 58th Presidential Tour of Türkiye (TUR) concluded on Oct. 15 in Istanbul’s historic Sultanahmet Square, with Alexey Lutsenko of Kazakhstan's Astana team claiming the winner’s turquoise jersey.
Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin- Deceuninck won the final stage of Turkish cycling’s showpiece event, which covered 1,235 kilometers in eight stages, mainly along Türkiye’s Mediterranean and Aegean coasts.
The victory in the eights stage in 2 hours 57 minutes 28 seconds was Philipsen’s fourth stage win of the TUR and cemented his claim on sprinters’ green jersey.
Jay Tristian Vine of UAE Emirates won the red jersey for best climber, while the white jersey given to the leader in “Beauties of Türkiye” went to Mauro Verwilt 0f Tarteletto-Isorex.
Ben Zwiehoff of Bora Hansgrohe finished second in the general classification, while Harold Alfonso Tejada Canacu of Astana finished third.
Philipsen was delighted to have won the last stage.
“The goal was to win stages and we had a good team here to help towards this goal,” he said.
“We can look back to a successful Tour of Türkiye and a successful season in general, and take some time of now and enjoy.
Philipsen, with four stage wins and the green jersey in Tour de France, has had a brilliant season winning a total of 19 races, the most by a rider in a season in a decade.
“It was something we worked hard for with the team,” he said of the successful season.
“When you focus on the same goals as a team it is possible. Now we have to build up for the next season and continue like this.”
Turquoise jersey winner Lutsenko was also delighted to add another tour victory to his long resume.
“I’m super happy,” said the Kazakh rider, who traveled to Türkiye for the TUR right after he won the road race in the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
“It was the last race of the season, it’s a great result for the team and also for me.”
Lutsenko put his mark on the TUR in the queen stage, when he won the Fethiye-Babadağ stage on the third day of the competition.
The stage featured a grueling ascent on the 104.1-kilometer track, starting in the southwestern resort town of Fethiye.
Between the 50th and 68th kilometers, the peloton ascended around 1,000 meters, setting the stage for an intense competition.
In the last 20 kilometers from Ölüdeniz beach to the Babadağ summit, athletes descended to zero elevation before climbing back up to 1,937 meters. The final climb featured a daunting 10.4 percent average slope, marking it as the steepest hill in the history of UCI-sanctioned races and becoming an instant sensation among cycling fans across the globe.
