May 3, 2026
After a long transfer, today's final stage of the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkiye takes place in the capital city of Ankara for the first time in 27 years. The stage is exceptionally short at just 105 km and is entirely on a 16.5 km circuit that will be raced six and a half times. The lap is very flat with the exception of the last 800 meters to the line which averages 7%. The ramp, in isolation, is really nothing to notice but after eight hard days and seven times up, the riders will feel it. There are a few scenarios that could play out. The peloton could split over one of the last times up to the finish and we could see an attacking group fight for the win, or it could be a reduced peloton with the lighter sprinters and puncheurs in contention. Either way, it could be dangerous for the GC riders if some one gets into a move because it is always harder to chase on a city circuit.
Race Summary
Ankara is about 450 km North of Antalya and significantly colder than the coastal city. About half the peloton had leg warmers at the start and everyone had long sleeve jackets to stay warm. The roads were dry after a night of rain and any further precipitation was expected to hold off for the duration of the race. When cameras started rolling with 80 km to go, the break had not gone and Konya Büyükşehir Belediye Spor were pulling to set up for the final Treasures of Turkiye sprint. Burak Abay took the sprint and sealed that competition for his teammate, Mustafa Tarakçı, making for a successful week for the team. It was also the first chance to see the actual climb. The road was two lanes wide but really dragged on. Over the top, the bunch was strung out and it was clear that the race was going to be very difficult to control.
Attacks continued until 69 km remaining when Feritcan Şamlı of Spor Toto and Arda Teki̇rdağ of Muğla Büyükşehir Belediyesi Spor Kulübü snuck away. Caja Rural-Seguros RGA shut down the attacking and they immediately started riding a controlling pace in the bunch. Şamlı and Teki̇rdağ had 1 minute when they reached the finish line for four laps remaining. Attacking resumed in the peloton on the climb and a group of eleven got away when they reached the top. It was full of the bigger teams with representation from Alpecin-Premier Tech, Picnic-PostNL, Cofidis, and TotalEnergies. The cohesion wasn't great however and Caja Rural-Seguros RGA were able to slowly reel the group back into the fold.
Şamlı and Teki̇rdağ were also brought back as counter attacks were flying. Tim Marsman of Alpecin-Premier Tech followed an attack from Eivind Broholt Fougner of Unibet Rose Rockets with 49 km to go and they were able to establish a gap. It was 30 seconds by the top of the climb with 46 km to go but the action as kicking off again. Little cracks formed in the peloton over the top as it stretched further than in previous laps. Only Byron Munton of Modern Adventure was able to get away but he had over 30 seconds to close to Marsman and Fougner which left him in a chasse potate.
With 34 km to go on the approach to two laps to go, Marsman and Fougner had built a 1 minute 15 second lead. Munton was stuck in the middle at 30 seconds, and more riders were trying to break free from the Caja Rural-Seguros RGA led peloton. Munton did not give up and he was able to use the climb to the line to bridge up to make three at the front of the race. Behind, TotalEnergies set a hard pace up the climb about 1 minute later which stretched everyone once again. A gap formed about 40 wheels back and it quickly spread to over 10 seconds. Second overall, Iván Ramiro Sosa of Equipo Kern Pharma, was on the wrong side of the split which was widening as attacks continued off the front.
Everything settled back down a few kilometers later and the peloton regrouped, allowing Sosa and the others to get back on. All of the action brought the gap down to 35 seconds but once again, Caja Rural-Seguros RGA went to the front to set a controlling pace which was slightly slower than that of the three riders out front. Flanders Baloise wanted a sprint and they were not satisfied with the work rate of Caja Rural-Seguros RGA. They added a man to the chase and by the foot of the penultimate climb to the line, the gap was down to just 20 seconds.
The extra speed in the peloton didn't just come from Flanders Baloise. As the bunch hit the bottom of the hill with 17.5 km to go, every team seemed eager to position as far forward as possible to avoid missing a potential split over the top. The rush forward increased the pace and by the top when the bell rang out, the gap was just 13 seconds. There was a bit of a stall in the chase which allowed the three leaders to extend back out to 20 seconds with 10 km to go. The speed was low enough that Vojtěch Kmínek of Burgos-Burpellet BH was able to attack but the move spurred the peloton back to life and Kmínek was retained 2 km later.
Picnic-PostNL added to the chasing efforts until 6 km to go when teams pushed forward once more to position for the finale. As strong and cohesive as Munton, Marsman, and Fougner were, the collective strength of the peloton was greater and they were hauled back just 1,500 meters from the line. At this point, ATT Investments were leading with Picnic-PostNL but the bunch was ragged and disorganized. The road went from five lanes to two under 1 km to go and Modern Adventure found themselves on the front after the squeeze. The intensity was so great that the first 40 riders were stretched to no more than two riders wide.
Everyone was on their limit and riders were bumping into each other as their legs filled with lactic acid and their concentration waned. Stefano Oldani of Caja Rural-Seguros RGA was the first to make a bid for the line at 400 meters to go. Both he and Marc Brustenga of Equipo Kern Pharma looked like they would challenge for the win but the road dragged on and they faded backwards. At 200 meters, Tom Crabbe of Flanders Baloise made his acceleration and was quickly passed Oldani and Brustenga. His punch was so great that he led by four bike lengths to second on the road, Nicolas Breuillard of TotalEnergies, at 100 meters. The scrap for second continued but the win was gone because Crabbe was already celebrating as he went passed 50 meters to go. Jelle Vermoote of Tarteletto-Isorex won the sprint for second ahead of Stanisław Aniołkowski of Cofidis in third and Breuillard in fourth.
There were no changes in the top 10 in GC which meant Sebastian Berwick of Caja Rural-Seguros RGA went out as the winner of the race overall. Iván Ramiro Sosa of Equipo Kern Pharma was second at 5 seconds with Kamiel Bonneu of Solution Tech-Nippo Rali rounding out the podium in third at 59 seconds.