ANTALYA, Türkiye
Lev Gonov sealed the win Tuesday in the third stage of 60th Presidential Cycling Tour of Türkiye.
The 25-year-old rider completed the 175.9 kilometer (108-mile) Fethiye-Marmaris track in 4 hours, 22 minutes and 44 seconds ahead of 160 cyclists.
Gonov said winning the stage was a big surprise that made him very happy.
“I thank my team and the super staff we have. It was a hard stage and a hard fight for the sprint victory. Our tactic was mostly to support our GC riders and then, in case of an opportunity, to try and win the stage. I tried and I won! Nicolas Vinokurov gave me a great lead-out so I only sprinted in the last 200 meters,” he said in a post-race news conference.
Gonov said it was his first win together with XDS-Astana and the first big win of his career.
“I still ride on the track so I’ll target the European championships on the road and time trial this year as well as the individual pursuit at the track, the world’s in Chili later this year. Tomorrow, I’ll take it easy but I hope for Wout Poels or Harold Martin Lopez to win the climbers’ stage,” he said.
Lander Loockx of Tietema Rockets was second while Tibor Del Grosso from the Alpecin-Deceuninck team placed third.
Del Grosso, 21, retained the Turquoise Jersey, which is awarded to the leader of the general classification.
The eight-day race will continue with the Marmaris-Akyaka (Kiran) leg on Wednesday.
Starting in Antalya on Sunday, cyclists have been covering 1,153 kilometers (716 miles) in eight stages, riding through renowned Turkish tourism hotspots such as Kemer, Kalkan, Fethiye, Marmaris, Akyaka, Aydin, Kusadasi, Selcuk and Cesme before reaching the finish line in the Aegean city of Izmir on May 4.
The Turkish Cycling Federation has been organizing the tour, known previously as the Marmara Tour, since 1963. It gained international status in 1965 and was brought under presidential authority in 1966, as it became one of the region’s most prestigious races.
