Description
May 3, 2026
61st Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkiye 2026 🇹🇷 (2.Pro) ME – Stage 8 – Ankara – Ankara : 105,2 km
The Presidential Tour of Turkey is a UCI 2.1 classification that unfolds as a late-season journey through a landscape of dramatic contrasts,
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May 3, 2026
61st Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkiye 2026 🇹🇷 (2.Pro) ME – Stage 8 – Ankara – Ankara : 105,2 km
The Presidential Tour of Turkey is a UCI 2.1 classification that unfolds as a late-season journey through a landscape of dramatic contrasts, where the roads weave between turquoise coastlines, sunbaked plateaus, and timeworn valleys, their surfaces telling stories of endurance. The terrain is a relentless blend of long, undulating climbs and deceptive false flats, with ascents that stretch for kilometers, their gradients steady and unforgiving, designed to sap strength rather than shatter resolve. Along the Aegean coast, the route flattens but never eases, as the wind roars in from the sea, turning the roads into a battleground of crosswinds and echelons, the peloton strung out in a fragile, ever-shifting line. The roads vary from pristine highways to rougher, weathered stretches where the tarmac cracks under the weight of the bikes, the vibrations echoing through the frames. The race typically begins with a measured tempo, the peloton conserving energy for the challenges ahead, but as the days progress, the attacks grow more audacious, the climbs serving as crucibles that whittle the group down to the strongest. The finish often arrives after a sweeping descent or a final, fast drag to the line, where a reduced bunch sprints for victory, or a lone rider who has timed their escape perfectly holds off the chasing pack by a sliver of daylight, the golden light of dusk settling over the road.
Sebastian Berwick (Caja Rural) was crowned the winner of the 2026 Tour of Turkey on Sunday, as Tom Crabbe (Flanders-Baloise) made it a hattrick of stage wins with victory on the final day.
The finale to the eight-stage race once again saw wet weather for a short 105-kilometre stage based on a circuit around Ankara that was tackled six times.
The sting in the tail was the punishing uphill drag inside the final kilometre, which left the sprinters’ lungs bursting, but Crabbe emerged with a perfectly-timed effort to raise his arms for a third time in this race.
Jelle Vermoote (Tarteletto-Isorex) crossed the line in second place, with Stanislaw Aniolkowski (Cofidis) bagging the final spot on the podium.
After a late catch of the final three-man breakaway, the final stage came down to a full bunch sprint up that short sharp climb, and numerous riders looked to have hit out for glory before Crabbe stole through late on.
Marc Brustenga (Kern Pharma) stormed into the lead as the crown of the hill appeared inside the final 100 metres, but Crabbe soared up on the left and overtook him just as the road was turning flat again.
Crucially, Crabbe still had power in the legs to take onto the flat, while seemingly everyone else was done and had nothing left to give once the hill had been crested. That allowed Crabbe to ease clear and raise his arms well in advance of the line.
There were no issues for the race leader Sebastian Berwick, the Australian finishing safely in the bunch and avoiding any bonus second competition earlier on to seal the top spot on the general classification.
Berwick was the runner-up on the race’s two key mountain stages but his consistency was rewarded with a first stage race victory of the 26-year-old’s career.
His margin of victory was five seconds over Ivan Sosa (Kern Pharma), with Kamiel Bonneu (Solution Tech Nippo Rali) occupying the bottom step of the final podium, 59 seconds down.
Results :
Final General Classification :
 ME - Stage 8 </strong> - Ankara - Ankara : 105,2 km
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The Presidential Tour of Turkey is a UCI 2.1 classification that unfolds as a late-season journey through a landscape of dramatic contrasts, where the roads weave between turquoise coastlines, sunbaked plateaus, and timeworn valleys, their surfaces telling stories of endurance. The terrain is a relentless blend of long, undulating climbs and deceptive false flats, with ascents that stretch for kilometers, their gradients steady and unforgiving, designed to sap strength rather than shatter resolve. Along the Aegean coast, the route flattens but never eases, as the wind roars in from the sea, turning the roads into a battleground of crosswinds and echelons, the peloton strung out in a fragile, ever-shifting line. The roads vary from pristine highways to rougher, weathered stretches where the tarmac cracks under the weight of the bikes, the vibrations echoing through the frames. The race typically begins with a measured tempo, the peloton conserving energy for the challenges ahead, but as the days progress, the attacks grow more audacious, the climbs serving as crucibles that whittle the group down to the strongest. The finish often arrives after a sweeping descent or a final, fast drag to the line, where a reduced bunch sprints for victory, or a lone rider who has timed their escape perfectly holds off the chasing pack by a sliver of daylight, the golden light of dusk settling over the road.
Sebastian Berwick (Caja Rural) was crowned the winner of the 2026 Tour of Turkey on Sunday, as Tom Crabbe (Flanders-Baloise) made it a hattrick of stage wins with victory on the final day.
The finale to the eight-stage race once again saw wet weather for a short 105-kilometre stage based on a circuit around Ankara that was tackled six times.
The sting in the tail was the punishing uphill drag inside the final kilometre, which left the sprinters' lungs bursting, but Crabbe emerged with a perfectly-timed effort to raise his arms for a third time in this race.
Jelle Vermoote (Tarteletto-Isorex) crossed the line in second place, with Stanislaw Aniolkowski (Cofidis) bagging the final spot on the podium.
After a late catch of the final three-man breakaway, the final stage came down to a full bunch sprint up that short sharp climb, and numerous riders looked to have hit out for glory before Crabbe stole through late on.
Marc Brustenga (Kern Pharma) stormed into the lead as the crown of the hill appeared inside the final 100 metres, but Crabbe soared up on the left and overtook him just as the road was turning flat again.
Crucially, Crabbe still had power in the legs to take onto the flat, while seemingly everyone else was done and had nothing left to give once the hill had been crested. That allowed Crabbe to ease clear and raise his arms well in advance of the line.
There were no issues for the race leader Sebastian Berwick, the Australian finishing safely in the bunch and avoiding any bonus second competition earlier on to seal the top spot on the general classification.
Berwick was the runner-up on the race's two key mountain stages but his consistency was rewarded with a first stage race victory of the 26-year-old's career.
His margin of victory was five seconds over Ivan Sosa (Kern Pharma), with Kamiel Bonneu (Solution Tech Nippo Rali) occupying the bottom step of the final podium, 59 seconds down.
<strong>Results : </strong>
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<strong>Final General Classification : </strong>
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