IZMIR

Harold Martin Lopez powered to victory in stage 6 of the 60th Presidential Cycling Tour of Tükiye on Friday.

The 24-year-old Ecuadorian cyclist finished the 156-kilometer (96-mile) race in the Selcuk district of Izmir in 3 hours, 32 minutes, and 55 seconds, ahead of 143 other athletes.

Lopez expressed his delight at securing a victory in the Tour of Türkiye.

"Firstly, I'm very happy because this is my first pro win in terms of crossing the finish line in first place, but it’s actually my second one after I won GC at Tour de Hellas one month ago," he said.

The Ecuadorian athlete heaped praises on his teammate, declaring: "Wout is a very good rider with a lot of pro wins, Grand Tours, and experience. It’s special for me to ride with him."

He said the Tour of Türkiye serves as good preparation for the Giro d'Italia, hoping he will win the next year in Türkiye.

"The Presidential Cycling Tour of Türkiye is a good preparation for the Giro d’Italia, but since I've raced a lot after I recovered from my crash in Australia, my next race will be the Tour of Hungary, after which I'll go home to Ecuador, and that also makes me very happy."

XDS Astana's Wout Poels came second, while Uno-X Mobility's Johannes Kulset finished third.

The 37-year-old Dutchman retained the general classification (GC) with a time of 17 hours, 59 minutes, and 22 seconds, wearing the "turquoise jersey."

On Wednesday, Poels, who powered to a stage 4 victory, also known as the "Queen stage."

Meanwhile, stage 5 of the Tour of Türkiye—the Marmaris to Aydin leg—was cancelled due to worsening weather conditions and heavy rain to ensure the safety of the cyclists.

The eight-day race will continue with the Selcuk-Cesme on Saturday.

Starting in Antalya on Sunday, cyclists have been covering 1,153 kilometers (716 miles) in eight stages, riding through renowned Turkish tourism hotspots such as Kemer, Kalkan, Fethiye, Marmaris, Akyaka, Aydin, Kusadasi, Selcuk, and Cesme before reaching the finish line in the Aegean city of Izmir on May 4.