Mark Cavendish beats back longtime rival André Greipel to win for the second day in a row.
Mark Cavendish (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) pulled a page from his past by blasting off the wheel to win for the second day in a row at the Tour of Turkey.
Just 24 hours after his first victory in three years, Cavendish opened up his kick in the closing 100 meters of the third stage to steal victory from longtime rival André Greipel.
Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix) crossed the line second, with Stanisław Aniołkowski (Bingoal-Pauwels) coming through third.
Though not as emotional as he was in the wake of Monday’s big win, Cavendish was more than pleased to keep the momentum going.
“It was a difficult sprint to play, it was kind of uphill,” Cavendish said. “It was a messy one to get right. We had to stay patient, and the guys did an incredible job. It makes me immensely proud. I had more confidence today because I knew I could do it. It would be nice to be able to get more stage wins for the team. We don’t have anyone for the GC. We want to see Fabio [Jakobsen] back in the sprint.”
Israel Start-Up Nation took control of the peloton coming into the final 10km with hopes of setting up Greipel, but the big German didn’t have the legs to finish off an otherwise perfect lead-out. Greipel coasted across the line fifth.
The back-to-back victories mark the first time Cavendish has won two in a row since the 2015 Tour of California. With the victory, Cavendish also secures his overall leader’s jersey.
The 56th Tour of Turkey continues Wednesday with the 184.4km fourth stage for Alanya to Kemer with a rolling profile that will provide another chance for the fast finishers in the bunch.
No comments:
Post a Comment