On April 10 (tomorrow), the 57th Tour de Turkey will officially begin. This UCI 2.Pro multi-day race attracted 25 cycling teams from all over the world, and the China Huaxing Intercontinental Cycling Team will make its debut, which is worth looking forward to.
Let's get an early look at the highlights of this year's Tour de Turkey through the race route, the lineup, and the competitive landscape.
Race lines
There are 8 stages in this year's Tour de Turkey, all of which are large group stages with a total length of 1303km. On April 10, the race will depart from the southwestern Turkish city of Bodrum and then head north along the coastline to Istanbul, Turkey's largest city.
The overall climbing difficulty of this competition is not high, with a total of 1 summit finish stage, 2 short steep slope sprint stages, 2 hill stages and 3 flat road stages. Thanks to the pleasant climate in the Mediterranean, the weather is not expected to pose much of a challenge to the race, but crosswinds are an uncertain factor.
For teams that aspire to sprint on the flat road, a few stages with lower elevation climbs will be a must for the soldiers. The overall drivers will fight to the death at the end of Peak Spear in the fourth stage. The route setting of this year's Tour de Turkey is full of openness, and who will win the championship and sprint king will have great suspense.
Stage 1: Bodrum Kusadasi 207.6km
The opening of this year's Tour de Turkey will take place between two Aegean coastal tourist cities, Bodrum and Kusadasi, both popular tourist destinations. With a total length of 207.6km, this stage is the longest in this competition, with 2 tertiary climbing points and 1 secondary climbing point. The long schedule means plenty of opportunities, and rabbits who aspire to compete for the Climber Red Shirt and the stage winner are expected to launch a strong breakout. Sprinters who want to compete for the stage championship need to have strong climbing ability. The last 3 kilometers of the stage are uphill + downhill, which is a great test of the driver's on-the-spot adaptability.
Stage 2: Selcuk-Alacati 158.4km
Selcuk is adjacent to the World Heritage Site of Ephesus, and the ancient city of Ephesus is also the starting point of this stage. Terminus Alacati is a very Turkish town known for its stone houses, exquisite hotels, and gastronomy. The sprint point on the way is at the 37th kilometre, with only one three-stage climbing point, and the pace of the race is expected to be very fast. Sprinters who are rubbing their fists will not miss the final straight sprint.
Stage 3: Cesme Izmir 121.8km
The start and finish of the three consecutive stages are famous tourist cities on turkey's Aegean coast, which shows the ambition of the race to promote tourism in Turkey. Izmir is turkey's third largest city, both an economic and agricultural center on the Aegean coast and a historic city. The mileage of this stage is the shortest of the eight stages of 121.8km, and the climbing difficulty is also the lowest of all stages. Therefore, this stage will only belong to the drivers with the strongest sprint ability. At the same time, since the next stage is the "Queen Stage" that is very likely to determine the championship, it is important for the total scorers to save their physical strength.
Stage 4: Izmir-Manisa 152.1km
The fourth stage is the only summit finish stage of the Tour de Turkey and is highly likely to be a final match, so it is the goal of all the drivers with the overall results. After starting from Izmir, this stage basically comes to the foot of Mount Spear and then begins to climb the hill to win. The total length of the hill is 14 kilometers, the altitude climb is about 1000 meters, and the climbing difficulty is level one. A wonderful climbing battle, worth looking forward to.
Stage 5: Manisa-Avalek 191.7km
After the climbing battle, the race returns to the Aegean coast again, and the fifth stage finishes in Avalek, which is also a scenic tourist town. The stage shows a tight front and loose back, with the only three-stage climbing point appearing at the 54.5 km, after which it goes downhill + flat to the finish line. After surviving the arduous climb, the sprinters once again had a chance to win.
Stage 6: Edremite-Edjayabad 204.6km
This stage continues the journey to the Aegean Sea – from Edremit, after a long 204-kilometer journey across the Dardanelles, to Ejayabad on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The stage featured 2 sprint points to motivate the Bunnys to break through the attack. The finish line is located at the monument of the 57th Infantry Regiment, and the first 3 km of the finish line is an uphill sprint. To prove your willpower and ability to sprint down steep slopes, this day is the perfect opportunity.
Stage 7: Galliblu - Tekilda 135.3km
This stage takes place in the European part of Turkey. Formerly known as Gallipoli, Gallipoli is located on the northern side of the Gallipoli Peninsula; Tekirda is the capital city of the province of the same name. With a total length of 135.3km and two secondary climbing points, the stage is the second most difficult to climb in the whole competition. For sprinters, how to survive to the final flat end is a difficult problem, if their vice general is not strong, there is a good chance that the breakout driver will win the stage championship.
Stage 8: Istanbul - Istanbul 141.1km
Istanbul is the symbol of Turkey, a historic city that straddles the Eurasian continent. The eighth stage of the race will cross the Bosphorus Strait and travel between Asia and the European continent, which is highly symbolic. The final stage of the race will be three laps at the Ataturk Convention Centre and an uphill sprint at the Ataturk Cultural Centre. A short steep sprint of 1 km long, 80 m climb may not affect the ownership of the championship, but it will certainly be able to select a strong finale champion.
The live broadcast time of Eurosport, Beijing time is +5 hours, so stay tuned for the live broadcast of major video sites.
Lineup
The Tour de Turkey has attracted many top teams as well as strong sprinters in recent years, and this year is no exception. Of the 25 teams, six are World Tour teams (First Division), 12 professional teams (Second Division) and seven Intercontinental Teams, with Emirates temporarily withdrawing from the race and replacing them with Global 6 Continental. Compared to the previous edition, the number of World Tour teams has doubled this year, and the competition is expected to be more intense.
In last year's tournament, Cavendish won 4 stages, laying the foundation for his legendary Tour de France afterwards. This year, more Tour de France sprinters came to the Tour de Turkey. Sam Bennett, Caleb Ivan, Carden Groves, Keith Pol, Philipson, Bouani and many more will make the gold content of this year's pacific sprint around Turkey rise sharply.
In terms of overall results, former Tour de Italy champion Quintana, Tour de Oman stage winner Anthon Charmig and previous runner-up Jay Vine are all strong contenders for the championship. American driver Sean Bennett from China's Huaxing Intercontinental Team, as well as former Central Champion Lu Xianjing, also had the opportunity to impact the high overall rankings.
Huaxing's newly announced lineup: Sean Bennett, Lu Xianjing, Rainier Honishi, Nazarbek Becken, Etienne Van Enper, Xu Changquan, Lucas De Rossi.
The team was scheduled to have South African driver Willie Schmidt in the lineup, but due to his recent poor performance, the team manager was adjusted to the Chinese driver, the Tour of Taiyuan champion Xu Changquan. 3 Chinese drivers participated in the season debut of Huaxing, a rare opportunity, I wish the players can successfully finish the race and achieve the desired results!
Recent developments of the Huaxing team
The China Huaxing Intercontinental Cycling Team assembled smoothly on April 7, and in the next two days, the team members seized the time to carry out adaptation training to prepare for the race that began on Sunday.
Live video of the team's outdoor riding training.
The four Chinese players are looking forward to the next competition and training.
The convoy leaves a group photo on the beautiful Aegean Sea.
The team technician adjusts the vehicle for the team members.
Around Turkey, the Huaxing team is ready, let's wait and see!