Turkey welcomes sprinters
Next week, Amstel Gold Race, Brabantse Pijl and Paris-Roubaix will be held, all of them very prestigious races that will focus the attention of the cycling fans. However, in the shadow of these three great races, the Presidential Cycling Tour of Türkiye (2.Pro) is also being held, an 8-day race that is appealing to the sprinters’ teams, as they will have several opportunities to test their trains for future goals.
Route
Of the 8 days that make up the race, at least 4 are clear for sprinters, although we could see up to 6 bunch sprints. The decisive stage for the general classification will be the fourth, with the finish line at the top of Manisa (13.9 km at 7.2%). The eighth and final stage includes a circuit on the streets of Istanbul with the finish line at the top of a 1.3 km ramp at 6.2%, in what is an ideal profile for punchy riders.
Favorites
Nairo Quintana (600) starts as the main favorite for the general classification, and a priori his main rivals should be Diego Ulissi (1000), Ben Hermans (400), Jay Vine (200) or Anton Charming (200).
For the sprints, Caleb Ewan (1000), Sam Bennet (1000), Danny Van Poppel (600), Nacer Bouhanni (400), Sebastian Molano (400), Kaden Groves (200), Alberto Dainese (400), Arvid De Klein (400), Cees Bol (600), Sacha Modolo (200) or Jakub Marezko (200) are some of the main names.