MUGLA
Stanislas Aniolkowski of the Cofidis team claimed victory in the fourth stage of the 61st Presidential Cycling Tour of Türkiye.
The 29-year-old Polish rider completed the 130.4-kilometer (81.0-mile) Marmaris–Fethiye course in 2 hours, 52 minutes and 50 seconds ahead of Riley Pickrell from Modern Adventure Pro Cycling and Davide Persico of MBH Bank Ballan CSB.
In the post-race press conference, Aniołkowski said he had kept working hard and believed he could win races.
“The last few years I didn’t win, so I was really missing this victory, and I hope this gives me more confidence for the next races, and still for the race in Türkiye,” he added.
When asked how he coped with three years without a victory and with no wins for his team during that time, he said he stayed focused and kept working hard.
“We had our plan, we started a 30-kilometer pace to go or even further, setting a hard pace on the climb to make the other sprinters tired and to make the race a bit harder, which suits me,” he added.
– Minor crash in fourth stage
Spor Toto Cycling Team rider Serdar Anil Depe was taken to a hospital after a crash during the fourth stage.
The 28-year-old was diagnosed with a “fractured right clavicle,” but his overall condition is good, and he was unable to continue in the tour.
Leader jerseys
Cyclists competing in the Tour of Türkiye wear four different-colored jerseys to reflect their standings in the overall classification and stage-based categories.
The turquoise jersey is worn by the general classification leader, green by the best sprinter, white by the leader of the Beauties of Türkiye classification, and red by the best climber, also known as the “King of the Mountains.”
Ivan Ramiro Sosa from Colombia, the Queen stage winner, remained atop the general classification (GC) with a time of 13 hours, 32 minutes and 34 seconds after four stages.
With Wednesday’s result, Sosa kept both the turquoise and red jerseys.
The green jersey remained with Belgian cyclist Tom Crabbe of Team Flanders-Baloise, and the white jersey went to Konya BBSK Cycling Team’s Turkish rider Mustafa Tarakci.
The eight-day race will continue on Thursday with the 180.7-kilometer Patara-Kemer stage, the longest stage of the tour.
Tour of Türkiye
The Tour of Türkiye is categorized as a ProSeries event on the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Europe Tour calendar and is the only race in Türkiye at that level.
The route includes Mediterranean and Aegean coastal cities such as Izmir, Aydin, Mugla and Antalya.
Starting in Cesme, Izmir, and finishing in Türkiye’s capital, the race features 161 cyclists from 27 countries competing over a total distance of 1,133 kilometers (704 miles).
