MUGLA, Türkiye

Wout Poels of XDS Astana won stage 4, also known as the "Queen stage," in the 60th Presidential Cycling Tour of Türkiye on Wednesday.

The 37-year-old Dutch rider completed the 115.4-kilometer (71-mile) distance from Marmaris to Akyaka (Kiran) in 3 hours, 14 minutes, and 12 seconds.

Poels expressed his delight at winning in his debut at the Tour of Türkiye.

"I had only come here for holidays before, and we passed next to the resort (where) I stayed during stage 1. It's a really important race in the line-up to the Giro d'Italia where I want to win a stage (to complete the trilogy after winning stages at the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana)," he added.

He also topped the general classification with a time of 14 hours, 26 minutes and 30 seconds, taking the "turquoise jersey" from Tibor Del Gross of Team Alpecin-Deceuninck.

"We thought it was also a good race for me to score points for the team, get a good result, and go with good feelings to the Giro. But now I also have to secure the GC… we have the second half of the race to do. My first experience in this race is really nice," Poels declared.

Poels' teammate Harold Martin Lopez came second, while Team Picnic PostNL's Guillermo Juan Martinez finished in third.

XDS Astana's duo currently leads the general classification as first and second.

Turkish athlete earns red jersey

Meanwhile, Ahmet Orken, a Turkish athlete with the Spor Toto Cycling Team, won the red jersey awarded to the best climber.

In addition to the challenging course, cyclists also struggled with the weather conditions.

The cyclists faced extremely difficult conditions due to the heavy rain, which began at the start of the climbing section. The rain was persistent throughout the stage, occasionally turning into a downpour, and it caused several accidents.

At the stage's 50th kilometer, five cyclists, including Caja Rural team athlete Daniel Babor, were involved in an accident. The athletes received first aid immediately but were unable to continue the race.

In a statement regarding the incident, the Organizing Committee of the 60th Presidential Türkiye Cycling Tour said the cyclists took a turn too fast on the downhill section and braked improperly due to the speed of the competition between them, resulting in a fall, which is very common in bicycle races.

In response to the incident, medical teams following the convoy served quickly and transported the athletes to a hospital.

Five of them were discharged after undergoing advanced examinations at Mugla Training and Research Hospital.

The eight-day race will continue with the Marmaris–Aydin stage on Thursday.

From Marmara Tour to international prestige

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.

The Turkish Cycling Federation has been organizing the tour, known previously as the Marmara Tour, since 1963. It gained international status in 1965 and was brought under presidential authority in 1966, as it became one of the region’s most prestigious races.