Tour of Turkey 2017 – Stage 3 [FULL STAGE]

October 12, 2017

Tour of Turkey 2017 – Stage 3 – Fethiye – Marmaris : 205 km

Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey (Turkish: Cumhurbaşkanlığı Bisiklet Turu) is a professional road bicycle racing stage race held annually in Turkey. From 2006 it was rated as a 2.2 event, before being upgraded to 2.1 in 2008, and then to 2.HC for the 2010 edition.

Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) made it a hat-trick at the Tour of Turkey, winning stage 3 on Thursday to maintain his 100 per cent strike so far at the late-season WorldTour race.

The Irishman had won convincingly from traditional bunch sprints on the opening two days, and en-route to Marmaris he managed to overcome a late climb to earn the right to sprint from a reduced peloton.

Trek-Segafredo’s Edward Theuns might have hoped the climb, and subsequent descent into Marmaris, would tip the balance in his favour after finishing third and second behind Bennett on the opening two stages, but the Belgian was once again unable to match the race leader’s speed in the home straight and had to settle for second place. UAE Team Emirates’ Simone Consonni finished third.

Bennett sat in second to last position in a group of 20 riders that emerged at the head of the race as the uncategorized 2.2-kilometre climb topped out with just over seven kilometres remaining. A chasing group of 20 clipped on part-way down the descent and, as the road flattened out in the final couple of kilometres, Bennett was able to rely on Shane Archbold and Gregor Muhlberger to take control and deliver him to the final few hundred metres, where his finishing speed spoke for itself.

“When the group split, I had the support of three of the guys again. It was a technical finish but I came out of the final bend in the perfect position,” said Bennett. “I’m delighted with a third victory for the team, the sponsors and to reward the guys for their amazing work.”

The victory is Bennett’s ninth of the season, and his fourth in a row after he won the Munsterland Giro earlier this month before heading to Turkey.

Thanks to bonus seconds, Bennett extends his lead atop the overall standings to 14 seconds over Theuns, with Consonni third at 26 seconds. That should all change, however, on Friday’s uphill finish at Selcuk.

How it unfolded

The third stage saw riders head off from Fethiye in the direction of Mamaris, with a shorter route than yesterday at 128.6km. There was an early category-2 climb, but the major feature of the parcours would be the uncategorized incline with just under 10 kilometres remaining, followed by the swooping descent into town.

Two riders – Greg Daniel (Trek-Segafredo) and Ferit Can Samli (Turkish national team) – went up the road from the gun, and they were later joined by Thomas Deruette (WB Veranclassic) who was late to the party but managed to bridge across. Lincoln Silva of Soul Brasil attemped to do the same but to no avail.

Deruette took maximum points at the top of the climb but Maestri skipped clear of the peloton to mop of the remaining points and retain his red king of the mountains jersey.

The breakaway opened up a lead of five minutes after 50 kilometers and, with Theuns’ Trek team placing a rider in the break, it was down to Bennett’s Bora teammates to control the gap to the leading trio. It was down to just under a minute with 25 kilometres to go, whereupon Daniel attacked his breakaway companions and set off on a solo mission, arms tucked over his bars on the wide highways. He made it to the foot of the climb, and as he was caught by the peloton the attacks started to come.

Bardiani-CSF, Caja Rural and Androni-Sidermec sent riders off the front, while UAE seemed to have strength in numbers. No one succeeded in prying open a significant advantage, but the peloton was being stretched, and Bennett and co were in survival mode.

The climb crested with just over seven kilometres remaining, and Bennett was still in contention, sitting second to last place in the front group of 20 that had formed. Theuns was a couple of places in front of him. Another group of 20 clipped back on halfway down the descent, and it was just a question of how much the climb had taken out of the legs.

Not much out of Bennett’s, it transpired. His teammates took command through the tight left-hand bends and narrow streets of the final couple of kilometres and, unperturbed by a late flyer from Theuns’ teammates Kiel Reijnan. the 26-year-old calmly finished the job.

Results :
1 Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora – Hansgrohe 3:25:26
2 Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek – Segafredo
3 Simone Consonni (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
4 Manuel Belletti (Ita) Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia
5 Andrea Vendrame (Ita) Androni – Sidermec – Bottecchia
6 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Androni – Sidermec – Bottecchia
7 Vincenzo Albanese (Ita) Bardiani CSF
8 Eduard Prades Reverter (Spa) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
9 Jonas Koch (Ger) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
10 Ahmet Orken (Tur) Turkish national team
11 Gregor Mühlberger (Aut) Bora – Hansgrohe
12 Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
13 Nikolay Trusov (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
14 Enrico Barbin (Ita) Bardiani CSF
15 Yonder Godoy (Ven) Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia
16 Jarlinson Pantano Gomez (Col) Trek – Segafredo
17 Rafael Reis (Por) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
18 Gregory Habeaux (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aquality Protect
19 Shane Archbold (NZl) Bora – Hansgrohe
20 Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
21 Jesper Hansen (Den) Astana Pro Team
22 Ildar Arslanov (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
23 Mirco Maestri (Ita) Bardiani CSF
24 Diego Rubio Hernandez (Spa) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
25 Mateusz Taciak (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
26 Daniel Felipe Martinez Poveda (Col) Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia
27 Jordi Simon Casulleras (Spa) Soul Brasil Pro Cycling Team
28 Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) UAE Team Emirates
29 David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
30 Liam Bertazzo (Ita) Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia
31 Antonio Molina Canet (Spa) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
32 Federico Zurlo (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
33 Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) Bora – Hansgrohe
34 Christopher Butler (USA) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
35 Silvio Herklotz (Ger) Bora – Hansgrohe
36 Sergey Lagutin (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
37 Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF
38 Fausto Masnada (Ita) Androni – Sidermec – Bottecchia
39 Boy Van Poppel (Ned) Trek – Segafredo
40 Zhandos Bizhigitov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
41 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
42 Edoardo Zardini (Ita) Bardiani CSF
43 Ilia Koshevoy (Blr) Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia
44 Michal Paluta (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
45 Edward Ravasi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
46 Jhon Darwin Atapuma Hurtado (Col) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:11
47 Leszek Plucinski (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
48 Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek – Segafredo
49 Miguel Eduardo Florez Lopez (Col) Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia
50 Piotr Brozyna (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
51 Sergey Firsanov (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
52 Davide Ballerini (Ita) Androni – Sidermec – Bottecchia 0:00:13
53 Lukas Spengler (Swi) WB Veranclassic Aquality Protect 0:00:15
54 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Trek – Segafredo 0:00:33
55 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:00:48
56 Riccardo Minali (Ita) Astana Pro Team
57 Simone Sterbini (Ita) Bardiani CSF
58 Marko Kump (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
59 Franti_Ek Sisr (Cze) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
60 Nazim Bakirci (Tur) Turkish national team
61 Danilo Celano (Ita) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
62 Christophe Masson (Fra) WB Veranclassic Aquality Protect
63 Flavio Cardoso Santos (Bra) Soul Brasil Pro Cycling Team 0:00:57
64 Onur Balkan (Tur) Turkish national team
65 Igor Boev (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
66 Paolo Simion (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:01:25
67 Marco Maronese (Ita) Bardiani CSF
68 Serkan Balkan (Tur) Turkish national team
69 Ahmet Akdilek (Tur) Turkish national team
70 Leopold Konig (Cze) Bora – Hansgrohe 0:01:35
71 Murilo Ferraz Affonso (Bra) Soul Brasil Pro Cycling Team
72 Patryk Stosz (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice 0:02:31
73 Nikita Stalnov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:02:58
74 Ludovic Robeet (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aquality Protect 0:03:35
75 Julien Stassen (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aquality Protect
76 Alberto Cecchin (Ita) Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia 0:03:37
77 Mattia Frapporti (Ita) Androni – Sidermec – Bottecchia 0:05:02
78 Matteo Spreafico (Ita) Androni – Sidermec – Bottecchia 0:05:27
79 Jimmy Duquennoy (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aquality Protect
80 Kamil Malecki (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
81 Gregory Daniel (USA) Trek – Segafredo 0:06:10
82 Alex Turrin (Ita) Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia 0:06:19
83 Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Bora – Hansgrohe
84 Pedro Autran Dourado Dutra Nicacio (Bra) Soul Brasil Pro Cycling Team 0:07:32
85 Lincoln Silva (Bra) Soul Brasil Pro Cycling Team
86 Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) Bora – Hansgrohe
87 Thomas Deruette (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aquality Protect
88 Eugenio Alafaci (Ita) Trek – Segafredo
89 Roberto Pinheiro Da Silva (Bra) Soul Brasil Pro Cycling Team
90 Ruslan Tleubayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
91 Feritcan Samli (Tur) Turkish national team
92 Muhammet Atalay (Tur) Turkish national team
93 Marco Benfatto (Ita) Androni – Sidermec – Bottecchia
94 Batuhan Özgür (Tur) Turkish national team
95 Raphael Pires (Bra) Soul Brasil Pro Cycling Team
96 Marco Coledan (Ita) Trek – Segafredo
97 Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
98 Ivan Rovny (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo 0:15:36
99 Victor Ranghetti (Bra) Soul Brasil Pro Cycling Team
DNS Marco Frapporti (Ita) Androni – Sidermec – Bottecchia

General Classification after Stage 3 :
1 Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora – Hansgrohe 13:24:28
2 Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek – Segafredo 0:00:14
3 Simone Consonni (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:26
4 Vincenzo Albanese (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:00:29
5 Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
6 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Androni – Sidermec – Bottecchia
7 Mirco Maestri (Ita) Bardiani CSF
8 Manuel Belletti (Ita) Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia 0:00:30
9 Ahmet Orken (Tur) Turkish national team
10 Enrico Barbin (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:00:32
11 Eduard Prades Reverter (Spa) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
12 Jordi Simon Casulleras (Spa) Soul Brasil Pro Cycling Team
13 Boy Van Poppel (Ned) Trek – Segafredo
14 Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
15 Gregor Mühlberger (Aut) Bora – Hansgrohe
16 Silvio Herklotz (Ger) Bora – Hansgrohe
17 Jarlinson Pantano Gomez (Col) Trek – Segafredo
18 Zhandos Bizhigitov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
19 Rafael Reis (Por) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
20 Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) UAE Team Emirates
21 Edoardo Zardini (Ita) Bardiani CSF
22 Edward Ravasi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
23 Yonder Godoy (Ven) Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia
24 David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
25 Jesper Hansen (Den) Astana Pro Team
26 Fausto Masnada (Ita) Androni – Sidermec – Bottecchia
27 Ildar Arslanov (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
28 Antonio Molina Canet (Spa) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
29 Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF
30 Christopher Butler (USA) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
31 Diego Rubio Hernandez (Spa) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
32 Mateusz Taciak (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
33 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
34 Davide Ballerini (Ita) Androni – Sidermec – Bottecchia 0:00:43
35 Jonas Koch (Ger) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
36 Federico Zurlo (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
37 Andrea Vendrame (Ita) Androni – Sidermec – Bottecchia
38 Gregory Habeaux (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aquality Protect
39 Miguel Eduardo Florez Lopez (Col) Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia
40 Michal Paluta (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
41 Daniel Felipe Martinez Poveda (Col) Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia
42 Sergey Lagutin (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
43 Jhon Darwin Atapuma Hurtado (Col) UAE Team Emirates
44 Sergey Firsanov (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
45 Ilia Koshevoy (Blr) Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia
46 Leszek Plucinski (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
47 Shane Archbold (NZl) Bora – Hansgrohe 0:00:51
48 Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek – Segafredo 0:00:54
49 Piotr Brozyna (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
50 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Trek – Segafredo 0:01:05
51 Riccardo Minali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:01:14
52 Franti_Ek Sisr (Cze) CCC Sprandi Polkowice 0:01:20
53 Nazim Bakirci (Tur) Turkish national team
54 Danilo Celano (Ita) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
55 Christophe Masson (Fra) WB Veranclassic Aquality Protect
56 Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) Bora – Hansgrohe 0:01:24
57 Flavio Cardoso Santos (Bra) Soul Brasil Pro Cycling Team 0:01:27
58 Igor Boev (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo 0:01:29
59 Lukas Spengler (Swi) WB Veranclassic Aquality Protect 0:01:39
60 Paolo Simion (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:01:55
61 Marco Maronese (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:01:57
62 Serkan Balkan (Tur) Turkish national team
63 Ahmet Akdilek (Tur) Turkish national team
64 Murilo Ferraz Affonso (Bra) Soul Brasil Pro Cycling Team 0:02:16
65 Liam Bertazzo (Ita) Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia 0:02:51
66 Patryk Stosz (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice 0:03:03
67 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:03:08
68 Marko Kump (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
69 Simone Sterbini (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:03:16
70 Onur Balkan (Tur) Turkish national team 0:03:17
71 Julien Stassen (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aquality Protect 0:04:07
72 Nikita Stalnov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:04:20
73 Nikolay Trusov (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo 0:04:44
74 Mattia Frapporti (Ita) Androni – Sidermec – Bottecchia 0:05:56
75 Kamil Malecki (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice 0:06:10
76 Jimmy Duquennoy (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aquality Protect 0:06:22
77 Alberto Cecchin (Ita) Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia 0:06:28
78 Gregory Daniel (USA) Trek – Segafredo 0:06:52
79 Alex Turrin (Ita) Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia 0:07:26
80 Matteo Spreafico (Ita) Androni – Sidermec – Bottecchia 0:07:55
81 Marco Benfatto (Ita) Androni – Sidermec – Bottecchia 0:07:56
82 Muhammet Atalay (Tur) Turkish national team 0:08:03
83 Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) Bora – Hansgrohe 0:08:04
84 Ruslan Tleubayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
85 Batuhan Özgür (Tur) Turkish national team
86 Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
87 Thomas Deruette (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aquality Protect 0:08:13
88 Lincoln Silva (Bra) Soul Brasil Pro Cycling Team 0:08:15
89 Roberto Pinheiro Da Silva (Bra) Soul Brasil Pro Cycling Team
90 Feritcan Samli (Tur) Turkish national team 0:08:23
91 Marco Coledan (Ita) Trek – Segafredo 0:08:27
92 Raphael Pires (Bra) Soul Brasil Pro Cycling Team 0:10:00
93 Ludovic Robeet (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aquality Protect 0:10:09
94 Pedro Autran Dourado Dutra Nicacio (Bra) Soul Brasil Pro Cycling Team 0:11:39
95 Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Bora – Hansgrohe 0:13:25
96 Leopold Konig (Cze) Bora – Hansgrohe 0:13:56
97 Eugenio Alafaci (Ita) Trek – Segafredo 0:15:54
98 Victor Ranghetti (Bra) Soul Brasil Pro Cycling Team 0:17:56
99 Ivan Rovny (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo 0:18:00