Tour of Turkey announces 2015 route and stages

Image 1 of 4

The Presidential Tour of Turkey has announced the course for its 51st edition, to be held April 26-May 3. The course promises a mixture of sprints and mountains, ending with a spectacular stage in Istanbul.

The race opens with a stage starting and ending in the beach resort of Alanya, which should result in a bunch sprint. The second stage runs from Alanya to Antalya, another coastline and sprint stage.

Stage three brings climbing, with a finish at the natural mountain-top amphitheater at Elmali, followed by a sprint stage from Fethiye to Marmaris.

For the first time since 2011, the race returns to the hot springs and white mineral terraces of Pamukkale, a World Heritage Site, for the fifth stage.

The next mountain-top finish appears on the sixth stage, running from Denizili to Selcuk. Last year, Orica-GreenEdge’s Adam Yates won here to cement the overall title.

The race ends with two sprint stages, with stage seven running from Selcuk to Izmir. The final stage features the highlights of Istanbul, starting in Sulatanahmet Square between the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia, and crossing the Bosphorus Bridge which unites the continents of Europe and Asia, before taking on eight laps of a downtown circuit course.

Stages for the 2015 Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey:

Stage 1, 26 April: Alanya-Alanya

Stage 2, 27 April: Alanya-Antalya

Stage 3, 28 April: Kemer - Elmali

Stage 4, 29 April: Fethiye-Marmaris

Stage 5, 30 April: Muğla - Pamukkale

Stage 6, 1 May: Denizli - Selçuk

Stage 7, 2 May: Selçuk-İzmir

Stage 8, 3 May: Istanbul-Istanbul