Jasper Philipsen wins 2nd stage of Tour of Türkiye cycling race

By Emre Asikci

ANTALYA, Türkiye (AA) - Jasper Philipsen of the Alpecin-Deceuninck team won the 58th Presidential Cycling Tour of Türkiye stage two on Monday.

The 25-year-old from Belgium came first in the 166.5-kilometer (103-mile) ride, completing the Kemer-Kalkan stage in 4 hours, 13 minutes, 54 seconds.

Astana team's Cees Bol finished in second place while Luca Colnaghi from Green Project-Bardiani-Faizane came in third.

"It was a really hard finale, different from flat sprints. Normally, flat sprints are my specialty but I knew Cees Bol is really strong at this kind of finish. He has a high power for a long time," Philipsen said in a news conference. "Bol was a tough competitor today. I knew he’d get his chance today. He surprised me a little bit, it was close but I could still beat him."

Philipsen, who also won the first stage, remained at the top of the tour's overall standings and moved level with Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia's most-win record with 17 victories of the 2023 season.

The Turquoise jerseys worn by the general classification leader went to Philipsen.

The eight-day event will continue with the Fethiye-Babadag stage on Tuesday.

Starting from the Alanya district of Antalya on Sunday and ending in Istanbul on Oct. 15, the cyclists will travel 1,235 kilometers (767 miles) in the Turkish Riviera by the end of the eight-day race.

The Presidential Cycling Tour of Türkiye, the only intercontinental bicycle tour in the world, will host four world tour teams, seven professional, 12 continental, and one national team.

The Turkish Cycling Federation has been organizing the tour, earlier known as the Marmara Tour, since 1963. It gained international status in 1965 and was taken under presidential authority in 1966.

Remaining tracks:

Stage 3: Fethiye-Babadag (104.1 km) (64 mile)

Stage 4: Fethiye-Marmaris (165.3 kilometers) (102 miles)

Stage 5: Marmaris-Yalikavak (180.6 kilometers) (111 miles)

Stage 6: Bodrum-Selcuk (193.3 kilometers) (119 miles)

Stage 7: Selcuk-Manisa- Izmir (159.8 kilometers) (98 miles)

Stage 8: Istanbul-Sultanahmet (130.5 kilometers) (80 miles)