Tour of Turkey: Tibor Del Grosso shows his power and talent on rising finish

Tibor Del Grosso emerged late on the rising road to the finish in Kalkan to win stage 2 of the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey. 

The 21-year-old Alpecin-Deceuninck rider used his power to survive the hilly stage and then timed his final effort perfectly. 

Del Grosso is the Under 23 cyclocross world champion and took his first professional road race victory in Turkey after finishing second on a stage of the Volta a Catalunya. 

He gave Alpecin-Deceuninck their second consecutive stage victory in this year's race and is also the new race leader. 

"It was a good chance and we believed in it. The team worked hard today and it is great to finish it off," Del Grosso said. 

"It's a really tough finishing kilometre uphill and with the climbs before it was a chance to drop the pure sprinters. The finish suited me and I liked it. There were still some fast guys but the boys put me in a good position and then it was all out to the line." 

The 167.4km stage from Kemer to Kalkan followed the southern coast of Turkey between Bodrum and Antalya but included some early and mid-stage climbs that hurt the sprinters and gave power riders like Del Grosso his chance.

Five riders formed the early attack, including veteran Willie Smit (China Glory-Mentech) and they built a lead of over three minutes. Unibet Tietema Rockets took control of the race mid-stage and their pace hurt stage 1 winner Simon Dehairs (Alpecin-Deceuninck). Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Mobility) was also distanced, as were other sprinters. 

Vincent Dorn (Bike Aid) took the mountain points mid-stage after a fierce battle with Örken in the break and so secured the mountain jersey but the move was soon caught to set-up a 70-rider fast ride to the finish.  

Team Solution Tech-Vini Fantini tried some late attacks, as did Burgos Burpellet BH's Mario Aparicio but Unibet Tietema Rockets tried to control the final kilometres, with help from Alpecin-Deceuninck. Mario Aparicio got a ten-second gap but the reduced peloton hunted him down.

The long straight rise to the finish line was always going to be decisive. Lonardi and Loockx hit the front at the right time, as Del Grosso appeared boxed in and a few bike lengths behind. However, he was pushing a far bigger gear and had more power, meaning he could hit the front and even celebrate, arms wide open, as he crossed the finish line. 

Del Grosso finished second and third in Volta a Catalunya sprints and then sixth at Dwars door Vlaanderen and tenth at Brabantse Pijl. Now he finally has his first professional road race victory. 

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