The final day of the Presidential Cycling Tour of Türkiye isn’t exactly getting a smooth run-in. After already tweaking Saturday’s stage, organizers were back at it again on Sunday morning, forced into more changes as poor weather lingered.
The changes for last day of racing
Following discussions with teams, riders and race officials from the Union Cycliste Internationale, the decision was made to activate the race’s extreme weather protocol.
What that means in practice is fairly straightforward, even if it’s not ideal. Stage results will still be taken at the finish as usual, but if the rain hits hard, the overall classification won’t necessarily be decided there. Instead, the general classification times could be locked in at an earlier passage of the finish line, something riders will be warned about over race radio.
There’s another wrinkle, too: any bonus seconds on offer later in the stage, whether at intermediate sprints or the finish, will be scrapped if conditions deteriorate.
Stage 8, scheduled for 105.2 km on Sunday, was already on the short side. Now, with the weather refusing to cooperate, it’s more about getting through safely than putting on a grand finale.
Pickrell up there once again in Stage 7
The weather was equally as bad Saturday. Davide Ballerini timed it right in a soaked run into Antalya, winning stage 7 from a reduced bunch after a sketchy, rain-hit finale. He got the jump on Marceli Bogusławski and Tom Crabbe, while Victoria’s Riley Pickrell kept his solid week rolling with 7th. He’s had a solid run this week, with an 11th and a second. That second place was sooo close.
With slick roads, organizers froze GC times at 15 km to go and scrapped bonus seconds, turning it into a straight fight for the stage. Breaks never really stuck, and a late move was swallowed before a messy final kilometre split the field on a wet corner.
Plenty of sprinters backed off just trying to stay upright. Ballerini went for it, picked his line and committed to take the dub. With times neutralized, Sebastian Berwick holds the overall lead heading into the final day. Toronto’s Noah Ramsay, racing for Alpecin-Premier Tech, is also up there in the GC, after a few months off following a nasty crash in France. Good to see him back at it.
You can watch the final day of racing on Flobikes.com at 5:30 a.m EDT. If you’re in the mood for even more bikin’, the Tour of Romandie’s final day (it’s a tough one!) is on at 8:00 a.m. EDT. AND the women’s Vuelta Femenina begins today too–it’s on at 6:40 a.m. EDT.