Viviani upsets Cavendish in Tour of Turkey fifth stage

BODRUM

AA Photo

Italian rider Elia Viviani won the fifth stage of the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey on May 1, outpacing Mark Cavendish in a thrilling finish.

Cannondale rider Viviani endured a late attack by British sprint king Cavendish, and won the 183-kilometer stage from Marmaris to Turgutreis in four hours, 34 minutes, 12 seconds. Italian rider Kristian Sbaragli of the team MTN-Qhubeka came third.

Cavendish won three of the first four stages in the Tour of Turkey.

Estonian rider Rein Taaramae of team Cofidis maintains Turquoise Jersey as the overall race leader with a total time of 20:35.05. He is followed by Britain’s Adam Yates and France’s Romain Hardy.

The tour will continue with the queen stage today: The 182-kilometer stage between Bodrum and Selçuk has two daunting climbs and will likely decide the overall winner.

After tomorrow’s seventh stage, which will end in İzmir, the riders will fly to Istanbul for the final stage, where they will hold a traditional passage over the Bosphorus to make an “intercontinental” finish to the tour.