Bennett wins Tour of Turkey stage 1

Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) took victory on the opening stage of the Tour of Turkey in Kemer. Bennett avoided a crash in the final 200 metres to claim his second win this month, beating Marco Benfatto (Androni Sidermec) and Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo) in the high-speed sprint.

Hot off the heels of his Munsterland Giro victory and one of the few WorldTour sprinters in the bunch, Bennett was one of the pre-stage favourites on what was always expected to be a bunch sprint.

Bora-Hansgrohe was ever-present at the front of the peloton throughout the 170-kilometre stage, with some assistance from Trek-Segafredo and Gazprom-Rusvelo. They kept Bennett out of trouble as the peloton closed in on the finish line, avoiding a crash that several riders gown down in the middle of the bunch and then Shane Archbold skilfully lead out his team leader. The incident split the peloton, leaving only a small selection of riders to fight it out for the victory.

Bennett was led up the right side of the reduced bunch by Shane Archbold before he opened up his sprint with around 150 metres to go. The Irishman charged past several rivals and only a late charge from Benfatto threatened his victory. In the end, Bennett had half a bike's advantage on the Italian as they crossed the line.

The first stage of the 2017 Tour of Turkey set out from the coastal town of Alanya, east of Antalya. Onur Balkan and Batuhan Ozgur of the Turkish national team made it into the early break along with Alex Turrin (Wilier Triestina) and Flavio Cardoso Santos (Soul Brasil). The four later became six when Bardiani CSF duo Vincenzo Albanese and Simone Sterbini jumped across the gap.

After 20 kilometres of racing, the group held a 4:08 advantage over the peloton behind. By the halfway point of the stage, that had been cut down to just over two minutes as the sprinters' teams sprang into action. Gazprom-Rusvelo, Bora-Hansgrohe and Trek-Segafredo shared the duties for their respective fast-men.

Ozgur was the first to feel the strain of the pace and he was quickly distanced by his companions. It wouldn't be long before the remaining five riders found themselves back in the clutches of the peloton. Perhaps a little earlier than most would have ideally liked, the two groups were back together with 33 kilometres still to run.

The early catch meant that there was still time to attack and many tried their hand with attacks down the road. Ultimately, nothing stuck, with the high pace of the peloton and a head wind too making it difficult to stay away. A crash in the final two kilometres saw several riders hit the deck and divided what was left of the peloton. Bennett remained untroubled and had a clear run to the line to seal what he hopes to be the first of many victories this week.

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