By Emre Asikci
ISTANBUL (AA) - British cyclist Mark Cavendish won the second stage of the 56th Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey, the Tour of Turkey announced Monday.
"It’s incredible. It’s really nice to be a winner again. I’ll never get tired of that feeling. Shane Archbold got me further than yesterday. Alvaro [Hodeg] could guide me in the last kilometer. Thanks to Deceuninck-Quick Step for the opportunity to come back," Cavendish said via the Tour of Turkey's Twitter account.
Cavendish, 35, completed the 144.9-kilometer (90-mile) ride in Turkey's Konya province in 3 hours, 17 minutes and 30 seconds.
The Alpecin-Fenix team's Jasper Philipsen from Belgium was second, while the Start-Up Nation team's German cyclist Andre Greipel finished third.
The Tour of Turkey started in Konya instead of Nevsehir due to harsh weather conditions in the region. Dutch cyclist Arvid de Kleijn won the first stage yesterday.
Tour stages:
Stage 1: Konya – Konya (72.4 kilometers, 45 miles)
Stage 2: Konya – Konya (144.9 kilometers, 90 miles)
Stage 3: Beysehir – Alanya (212.6 kilometers, 132 miles)
Stage 4: Alanya – Kemer (184.4 kilometers, 114.5 miles)
Stage 5: Kemer – Elmali (Gogubeli) (160.3 kilometers, 99.6 miles)
Stage 6: Fethiye – Marmaris (129.1 kilometers, 80.2 miles)
Stage 7: Marmaris – Turgutreis (180 kilometers, 111.8 miles)
Stage 8: Bodrum – Kusadasi (160.3 kilometers, 99.6 miles)