By Fatih Erel
MANISA, Turkiye (AA) - Irish cyclist Sam Bennett, the second athlete to win the most stages in the history of the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkiye, said he put an evil eye bead on his bike against bad luck.
Bennett, who competes for Bora-Hansgrohe, a UCI WorldTeam cycling team, became the second most stage winning athlete in the tour with the nine stage leadership he won in three years behind German cyclist Andre Greipel, a retired cyclist who took the top spot with 11 stage victories, the most stages in the Tour of Turkiye.
"Maybe I'll pass him in the future. I'll have more chances," said the Irishman about Greipel. "I can never say for sure. There will be more opportunities ahead of me, but it will definitely be difficult."
Bennett, who injured his knee last year, put an evil eye bead on his bike for the 57th Presidential Tour of Turkiye.
"I was given the evil eye bead to break my bad luck. I hope it will help me in the race," he said.
"The organization is great. The race course is great. There are great views in the stages. People are very nice," said the 31-year-old.
"For these reasons, I come every year to compete on the tour."
*Writing by Selcuk Bugra Gokalp