Tour of Turkey: Sam Bennett doubles up on stage 2

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Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) claimed back-to-back stages in the Tour of Turkey with an unstoppable sprint on stage 2.

The Irishman unleashed a powerful sprint to win ahead of his teammate Felix Großschartner (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Jhonatan Restrepo Valencia (Manzana Postobon) on the uphill drag to the line.

The victory extended Bennett’s overall lead in the race.

Bora-Hansgrohe almost claimed the stage through Lukas Pöstlberger after a late attack by the Austrian road champion but he was caught just before the line and finished 15th.

The win marked Bennett’s sixth of the 2019 campaign and once again highlighted Bora’s controversial decision to leave the Irishman at home for the Giro d’Italia next month. Bennett won three stages in the Giro last year.

The stage saw a group of six riders - Mauricio Moreira (Caja Rural), Lucas De Rossi (Delko), Liam Bertazzo (Neri), Emerson Oronte (Rally), Thimo Willems (Vlaanderen), Ricardo Mestre (W52) and Halil Doğan (Turkey) - break away inside the opening kilometres and establish a healthy lead. None of the riders in question were a threat on general classification and Bora set about controlling the pace during the opening kilometres.

When Doğan was dropped from the break, the Turkish national team hit the front and their pressure quickly brought the break back to a more manageable two minutes before Dimension Data and UAE Team Emirates moved to the front. A crash for Lotto Soudal’s sprinter, Caleb Ewan, saw the Australian take a heavy fall but he was quickly back on his bike. He was given brief medical attention and looked in contention for the sprint with team bringing him to the front in the closing stages.

With the break finally caught inside the last 25km, the sprinters’ began to take further control. QuickStep and Rally controlled the field on the rolling terrain leading to the finish with Mark Cavendish providing a turn for his Dimension Data squad before swinging off with 3km to go.

UAE were well-placed at the front but a late attack from Pöstlberger threatened to spoil the chances of the pure fastmen. However, the Austrian champion was caught inside the final few hundred meters, with Bennett the only true sprinter able to survive. With the line in sight, Bennett kicked clear. Two days into Turkey and Bennett’s feast continues.

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