Cyclingflash
Tom Crabbe beats Simon Dehairs in opening stage of Tour of Turkey

Tom Crabbe beats Simon Dehairs in opening stage of Tour of Turkey

Tom Crabbe won the opening stage of the Tour of Turkey. The Belgian from Flanders Baloise was faster in the sprint than compatriot Simon Dehairs (Alpecin-Premier Tech).

The first stage towards Selçuk was labeled on paper as ‘flat to rolling’. After a hilly transition from Aydın, the peloton reached Marmaris, where the sprint for the victory would take place. This well-known resort town serves as the race’s epicenter for three days.

From the start, a breakaway of five continental riders formed, including the three Turks Ahmet Akpinar, Halil Dogan, Kaan Ozkalbim, the Eritrean Meael Girmay (younger brother of Biniam), and the Pole Michal Pomorski. The group built up a maximum lead of four minutes.

Breakaway riders push the pace
In the peloton, it was Picnic-PostNL, Alpecin-Premier Tech, and Flanders Baloise that did the most work upfront for sprinters Casper van Uden, Simon Dehairs, and Tom Crabbe. The three teams kept the breakaway within striking distance. With about 30 kilometers to go, the escapees’ lead dropped to one minute.

At 25 kilometers from the finish, the break decided to increase the pace, mainly driven by strong Pomorski, who caused their advantage to grow again. As a result, Ozkalbim had to drop off the front. At 11 kilometers from the finish, the peloton faced crosswinds, significantly increasing the tension. The breakaway still held a fifteen-second gap at that point.

Belgian showdown in the sprint
A few kilometers later, calm had returned to the peloton. Pomorski had meanwhile dropped his breakaway companions. With just under eight kilometers to go, the strong Pole also got caught, and the battle among the sprint trains in the peloton could begin.

Heading into the final hairpin with two kilometers remaining, everyone tried to position themselves as well as possible. Van Uden and his team navigated the corner well and led the peloton into the last kilometer. Dehairs also started the sprint from a good position and launched first. The Belgian held on for a long time, but in a photo finish, his compatriot Crabbe came around him. The fast Belgian secured his third win of the year.