Tour of Turkey 2015, Stage 1: A win for Cavendish

by Steve Thomas

The 51st edition of the Presidential Tour of Turkey rolled out of the coastal resort town of Alanya Sunday, with Orica-GreenEdge rider Christian Meier as the lone Canadian in the field.
Long since billed as a sprinters dream, the race annually attracts many of the fastest finishers in the world to its start line. Names such as Tom Boonen, Mark Cavendish, Andre Geipel are among their number this year, as is the young pint-size Australian sprinting sensation Caleb Ewan of Orica-GreenEdge. It’s Meier’s job to be a key link in the chain that hope to deliver Ewan to the final battleground, where he will inevitably come face to face (for the first time) with King Cav.

Sunday’s 145-km stage was about as flat as a pancake, with a couple of blueberries tossed in for flavour. An out-and-back route along the slightly windswept and sun-blessed Mediterranean coastline provides a swift intro to the eight-day race.

Alanya, and most of the route of this race, is drenched in amazing ancient history and culture, and has been occupied by everybody from the Ottoman Empire to the Greeks and Romans. The imposing UNESCO-designated castle was once given over as a wedding gift in one of the greatest love stories ever: that of Antony and Cleopatra. (Marc Antony gave it as his wedding gift.) It sure beats a diamond ring and a box of chocolates.

With six WorldTour, 14 pro continental and one Turkeyd-based continental team on the start line, the stature of the race, and ferocity of the racing, is guaranteed to be elevated even more this year.

Starting just one day after the 100th anniversary of the horrific Gallipoli campaign (remembered as ANZAC Day), where more than 100,000 lives were lost it, but luckily there was no blood lost in the battle for the line today.

“It’s a good race, but as expected, it was very chaotic today as there’s a big mix of teams and levels,” said Meier after finish, where teammate Ewan was beaten to the line in a clean battle with Cavendish. “He found himself in the wrong place, boxed in,” Meier said. But, with six of the race’s eight stages open to a sprint finish, there’s plenty of chances for Ewan to figure out the beating of the Manxman.

2015 Tour of Turkey

1. Mark Cavendish (Etixx-QuickStep)
2. Caleb Ewan (Orica-GreenEdge)
3. Nicola Ruffoni (Bardiani CSF)
34. Christian Meier (Orica-GreenEdge)