Anniversary: 50th Tour of Turkey begins in Alanya
- Written by Portal Editor
In the past few years, we have occasionally reported on various current venues for the Tour of Turkey. This year the cycle race will be held for the 50th time and can therefore look back on a really long tradition.
The cycling race, then known as the Marmara Tour, was held with international participation as early as the 1960s and has been a stage race on the UCI Europe Tour since 2005.
The starting point this year is Alanya, from where the Tour of Turkey will lead through Turkey's varied landscape on April 27th to Istanbul, where the race will end on May 4th. Not all stages with regard to the through-town routes are known exactly, but the cyclists will probably have to overcome eight partial stages with a total of 1,254 kilometres. The final route guidance is expected in the coming days.
Those who know the regions of Turkey between Alanya and Istanbul will have an initial idea of the quality of the route along the Taurus Mountains with their high mountain massifs and on the many winding roads along the coast. Once again, the absolute world leaders in international cycling have registered to take part.
First it goes along the Mediterranean coast in the direction of Antalya, then the change to the Aegean coast in the direction of Izmir, then by plane to Istanbul, where traditionally the finish of the race will take place on May 4th in the Bosphorus metropolis. This year, two stages are designated as so-called climbing tours, which have already been determined as stage 3 and stage 6 with their start and destination locations. Stage 3 should lead over 184.7 kilometres from Finike to Elmalı, stage 6 over 183.1 kilometres from Bodrum to Selçuk. Both stages also offer absolutely worthwhile travel destinations for visitors who are only interested in cycling.
Last year there was a Turkish winner, the cyclist Mustafa Sayar, who was disqualified a little later after positive doping tests and thus lost his title. Natnael Berhane from Eritrea was chosen as the new winner.
The entire race will be broadcast live on Eurosport television in as many as 76 countries and will be commented on in 20 languages, making it a truly spectacular event.
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