Türkİye, Sports

Croatian cyclist Durasek wins Tour of Turkey

Kristijan Durasek wins 51st Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey, Spanish cyclist Luis Mas Bonet claims final stage win.

03.05.2015 - Update : 03.05.2015
Croatian cyclist Durasek wins Tour of Turkey

ISTANBUL

Croatian cyclist Kristijan Durasek has won Sunday the 51st Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey.

Durasek, racing for Lampre-Merida, completed the tour in 31 hours, 6 minutes and 44 seconds.

Spanish cyclist Lluis Guillermo Mas Bonet of the Caja Rural – Seguros RGA team claimed victory in the eighth and final stage of the tour held in Istanbul.

The 26-year-old racer Bonet won the 124-kilometer stage in 2 hours, 45 minutes and 3 seconds, beating British cyclist Mark Cavendish and Spanish racer Carlos Barbero Cuesta at the finish line by a hair's length.

Cavendish, who already has three stage wins in this year's Tour of Turkey for the Etixx-Quick-Step team, finished second. Barbero Cuesta of the Caja Rural – Seguros RGA team, came in third. 

The eight-day event started last Sunday in Alanya district in southern Antalya and ended in Istanbul, after crossing Mugla, Denizli and Izmir provinces. The competitors pedaled for over 1,250 kilometers in total.  

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was at the finish line to present the winners with awards in a special ceremony. 

“Our most important target is to make people love cycling here in Turkey," he said.

Croatian cyclist Durasek remained leader in the Individual Overall Ranking. He wears the Turquoise Jersey, which is handed to the leader of the race. 

He was followed by Argentinian Eduardo Sepulveda, racing for Bretagne-Seche Environnement, at 31 hours, 7 minutes and 16 seconds and Tinkoff-Saxo's Australian Jay McCarthy at 31 hours, 7 minutes and 40 seconds. 

The Green Jersey, which is given to the best sprinter, was awarded to Cavendish, who had 60 points. With a total of 19 points, Colombian Juan Pablo Valencia Gonzalez earned the right to wear the Red Jersey, which is given to the leader in the Mountain Classification.

Spanish cyclist Bonet claimed the White Jersey as leader in the Turkish Beauties Classification, which rewards the fastest cyclist in specific sprint challenges, located in historic/beautiful spots throughout the race.

Italian cyclist Davide Rebellin won the third stage of the race, while German cyclist Andre Greipel claimed the fourth. Italian cyclist Sacha Modolo was victorious in the fifth and Spanish cyclist Pello Bilbao won the sixth. 

Last year, British cyclist Adam Yates won the 50th Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey.

The tour has emerged as an opportunity to showcase Turkish landscape. It has been broadcasted live by domestic and foreign TV channels of 190 countries since 2009. Over 200 members of the press, 50 of them foreign, followed the race. 

First organized in 1963 under the name Marmara Cycling Tour, the tour gained international recognition in 1965. Since 1966, the tour takes place under the Turkish president's patronage.

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