Finally! Elia Viviani strikes in chaotic sprint in Tour of Turkey and wins for first time in 2.5 years

There have been three crazy days in the Tour of Turkey. After the rain-soaked queen stage, which Wout Poels won, the organization unfortunately canceled the fifth stage. After consulting with the riders, it was decided not to ride in the terrible conditions, which continued on Thursday. Friday was better, so it was back to climbing, where XDS Astana once again took a 1-2 finish, this time with Harold Martin Lopez winning ahead of Poels.

The seventh stage was a chance to recover a bit. It was a pretty flat stage, with a few hills in the final. But normally, it would have been a sprint. That didn't stop seven guys from breaking away. Among them were the always-active Willie Smit (China Glory - Mentech), but also Dutch rider Adne van Engelen (Terengganu) and Belgian Jelle Vermoote (Wagner Bazin WB). However, the terrain was unfavorable for a breakaway, and the wind also played a role: it was very windy, and the peloton was always alert.

It was nervous, but that didn't lead to echelons in the end. The leading group thus arrived at the foot of the only categorized climb of the day, which was about 26 kilometers from the finish line, with a minute and a half lead. Quite a few strong contenders were at the front, including the experienced Valerio Conti (Solution Tech - Vini Fantini). The small Italian climber was eager to stay ahead and pushed hard on the climb, but the peloton did not let them go. In the following sections, the breakaway riders were at a disadvantage, falling further behind bit by bit.

The pace picked up again after the top of the climb, and the peloton broke apart. There were quite a few breakaways, with Tibor del Grosso also getting involved in the chaos. But Unibet Tietema Rockets managed to put a cunning plan into action. Adrien Maire and Giovanni Carboni ventured out together and were joined by Magnus Kulset (Uno-X Mobility). It was an extremely dangerous group, and Poels recognized this. The leader pulled the peloton into action and closed the gap himself.

It seemed like a quiet run-up to a bunch sprint, but that's when you must be wary of chaos. It started with a crash: a dozen riders crashed, and many riders were held up. The wind caused even more confusion as XDS Astana took the lead. This allowed Vermoote, the last rider in the breakaway, to catch up but did not cause any splits in the peloton. Around 100 riders rode towards the finish in Cesme.

A breakaway by Vinzent Dorn (BIKE AID) was neutralized, so we prepared for a sprint. Polti VisitMalta and Uno-X Mobility took control. Another crash eliminated several riders from Unibet Tietema Rockets, but most of the sprinters remained upright. Lotto put Elia Viviani in a perfect position, but Matteo Malucelli and Alexander Kristoff overtook him. It looked like they were going to battle it out, but suddenly, Viviani appeared out of nowhere and finally managed to win again.