By Emre Asikci
ISTANBUL (AA) – Next month’s 59th edition of the Tour of Türkiye will stretch from the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya to the metropolis of Istanbul, with hundreds of cyclists from across the world pumping the pedals to win the race.
The eight-day cycling event will start in Antalya on the Turkish Riviera on April 21 and end in Istanbul on April 28.
The Turkish Cycling Federation has been organizing the tour since 1963, when it was called the Marmara Tour. It gained international status in 1965 and got the presidential seal in 1966.
The Presidential Cycling Tour of Türkiye, the only intercontinental bicycle tour in the world – as riders will cross a bridge from Istanbul’s Asian side to its European side – will be broadcast live on both TRT Spor and Eurosport.
Alexey Lutsenko, 31, of the Astana Qazaqstan Team was last year’s tour winner. He secured the title with a time of 30 hours, six minutes, and 58 seconds, ahead of Ben Zwiehoff and Harold Tejada in the general classification.
- Competing teams
World teams: Bora-Hansgrohe, DSM-Firmenich Alpecin-Deceuninck, Astana Qazaqstan Team
Professional teams: Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team, Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, Polti Kometa, VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizane, Bingoal WB, Corratec Vini Fantini, TDT-Unibet, Novo Nordisk
Continental teams: Terengganu Polygon, China Glory-Mentech, Tarteletto-Isorex, Bike AID, Beykoz Belediyespor, Rembe Pro Cycling Team Sauerland, Sakarya BB Pro Team, Kinan Racing Team, Adria Mobil, Mazowsze Serce Polski, Spor Toto Cycling Team, Konya Buyuksehir Belediyespor
- Tour route
Stage 1: Antalya - Antalya
Stage 2: Kemer - Kas
Stage 3: Fethiye - Marmaris
Stage 4: Marmaris - Bodrum
Stage 5: Bodrum - Kusadasi
Stage 6: Kusadasi - Manisa (Mount Spil)
Stage 7: Izmir - Izmir
Stage 8: Istanbul - Istanbul