After two consecutive second spots, the big day came for the Belgian Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin Fenix) on the Tour of Turkey: he hit a stage win twice and took the lead on the third day disputed between eşme and Izmir, of 117.9 km, where the Spanish Miguel Ángel Fernández (Global 6) was third, with the same position in the overall classification.
A nice final duel in the shortest and flatest stage of the Turkish round, where, finally, Jasper Philipsen imposed his speed against Australian Kaden Groves (BikeExchange), who provided the stage and the light blue jersey of Belgian leader.
Cantabrian Miguel Ángel Fernández (Global 6) argued another day, a 25-year-old Santander-born sprinter who introduces himself to Turkish lands. After two eighth places, this time he climbed to third and, with a breakaway included in the overall standings, to the third step of the podium.
The outcome of the sprint in ancient Izmir, along the Aegean coast, is clear. The sprinters had a third consecutive appointment, missed by Australian Caleb Ewan, who lost to the finish line.
The escape was maintained up to 11 km from the finish line by 5 men, including a man from Euskaltel Euskadi, Peio Goikoetxea (Euskaltel), who suffered a fall without consequences before the adventure in which the Ermua cyclist participated was canceled.
The sprinter teams took over the latter part of the course. Lotto Soudal emerged from afar, but not with much ambition, probably because Ewan was not in a position to find the double.
If Groves BikeExchange and Philipsen’s Alpecin worked with great prospects, their pride would have been touched by two consecutive second spots. The Australian launched the attack 250 meters from the finish line. The “aussie” cyclist tried to surprise the Belgian, but the Belgian rider restrained his feet. He overtook it and prevailed with authority.
Philipsen (Ham, 24 years old), achieved the 16th victory of his career and the third of the season. A rider who has become famous on grand tours, as he had a 3 stage win in the Vuelta a España.
He leads the overall standings with a 2 -second advantage over Groves and 18 over Miguel Ángel Fernández, which must have been in the crosshairs of some team. In Spanish cycling there are not enough sprinters.
This Wednesday the fourth stage of the Tour of Turkey will take the peloton from İzmir to Manisa on a 146.2 km route.
Source: La Verdad
I am an experienced and passionate journalist with a strong track record in news website reporting. I specialize in technology coverage, breaking stories on the latest developments and trends from around the world. Working for Today Times Live has given me the opportunity to write thought-provoking pieces that have caught the attention of many readers.
