Heavy snow cancels start of Tour of Turkey

Heavy snow forced organizers to cancel the first stage of the Presidential Tour of Turkey on Saturday. The overnight flurries left a thick layer of winter on the ground at the start line in Nevşehir. With the 167.3-km stage scheduled to climb up in elevation from there, and more snow in the forecast, organizers made the call to delay racing.

Instead, the 56th Tour of Turkey will start on Sunday, in Konya.

Three Canadians are on the startlist for when racing resumes. Pier-André Coté, Rob Britton and Nickolas Zukowski will all start the eight-stage event for Rally Cycling.

One major story line for this year’s race is the return of Fabio Jakobsen. The Dutch rider is starting his first race in eight months, after his horrific crash at the Tour of Poland. Jakobsen will line up alongside Deceuninck – Quick Step teammate Mark Cavendish.