Sayer Wins Tour Of Turkey

Last updated : 28 April 2013 By Covsupport News Service

Torku's Mustafa Sayer won the 49th Presidental Tour Of Turkey with a finish in the peloton of an eighth and final stage which was won by Argos Shimano's Marcel Kittel.

The final stage was a 121km stage in Istanbul which started between Hagia Sophia and the blue mosque in Sultanhammet and went via Beyoglu, Besiktas, Üsküdar until the finish line in Kadiköy where eight laps of the final circuit was covered.

175 riders took to the start and saw three riders in Ignatiev (KAT), Verraes (AJW) and Megias (TNN) go three minutes clear with 17kms and two minutes clear of the counter attacker, Moreno (CAJ).

Moreno had long been swept up by the peloton with race leader Mustapha Sayer paying close attention by the time Mikhail Ignatiev won  the Turkish Beauties Sprint classification with a third place in the sprint on the  the Bosphorus Bridge after 74.1kms. 

The trio were 1.55 ahead going into the final forty kilometres. The lead was down to a minute and nine seconds when Ignatiev decided to take off with 20kms to go.

The Katusha rider was caught just after the peloton started their final twelve kilometre lap and the teams went all out for the bunch sprint.

Three riders went down in a high speed crash with two to go as Argos Shimano toiled on the front.

Into the final bend and out popped the perfectly positioned Marcel Kittel to take his third win in this year's Tour Of Turkey in a time of 2.43.45 ahead Guardini and Brit Andrew Fenn.

Mustafa Sayer of the Torku Continental Team, finished safely in the peloton to win the race overall.