The third stage of the Tour of Turkey was won by Italian Giovanni Lonardi (Team Polti-Kometa), who crossed the finish line in second place in Marmaris, but was finally declared the winner as Danny van Poppel (Bora-Hansgrohe) was disqualified by the judges, who considered an irregular sprint by the Dutchman.
Finally, on the 147.4-kilometer route between Fethiye and Marmaris, Italian Enrico Zanoncello (VF Group – Bardiani CSF – Faizanè) was reported second and third place went to German Max Kanter (Astana Qazaqstan Team), winner of the second fraction.
In the almost 150 kilometers from Fethiye to Marmaris, Team Polti Kometa controlled the race with Paul Double, Erik Fetter and Diego Sevilla, who helped neutralize the initial four-man breakaway and the subsequent five-man breakaway that formed on the last two climbs of the day. It was precisely on the last climb that the peloton reunited, and from there, the team went on to lead the approach to the sprint: Andrea Pietrobon, Mirco Maestri and Manuel Peñalver perfectly guided Giovanni Lonardi on the dangerous descent to the finish.
As perfect as it was the moment the Veronese sprinter launched his sprint: only a clear left deviation in Danny Van Poppel’s sprint prevented Lonardi from crossing the finish line first. The jury disqualified Van Poppel and declared the Polti Kometa rider the winner and new leader of the Tour of Turkey.
It is the fourth victory in his career. In addition to consolidating his lead in the points classification, Lonardi will wear the maglia turquoise as the new overall leader, tomorrow in the 138 kilometers to Bodrum. “I’m very happy, I’ve been looking for this victory so much…! – he says after the podium ceremony – “After two front places, it’s a deserved prize for me and my teammates. I think Van Poppel didn’t trace correctly in the sprint and his disqualification is fair, I had the legs to overtake him and he closed the way for me”.
As for the two South Americans in competition, Jefferson Cepeda (Caja Rural – Seguros RGA) came in 52nd and Harold Martin Lopez (Astana Qazaqstan Team) finished 62nd, the two Ecuadorians were reported with the same time as Lonardi.
The Ottoman race will continue this Wednesday, with a leg-breaking day between Marmaris and Bodrum, over a route of 137.9 kilometers with two categorized mountain passes.
Presidential Cycling Tour of Türkiye 2024 (2.Pro)
Results Stage 3 | Fethiye – Marmaris (147,4 km)
| 1 | Giovanni Lonardi | Team Polti Kometa | 3:24:57 |
| 2 | Enrico Zanoncello | VF Group – Bardiani CSF – Faizanè | ,, |
| 3 | Max Kanter | Astana Qazaqstan Team | ,, |
| 4 | Matyáš Kopecký | Team Novo Nordisk | ,, |
| 5 | Iúri Leitão | Caja Rural – Seguros RGA | ,, |
| 6 | Henri Uhlig | Alpecin – Deceuninck | ,, |
| 7 | Sebastián Mora | Burgos – BH | ,, |
| 8 | Kenneth Van Rooy | Bingoal WB | ,, |
| 9 | Merhawi Kudus | Terengganu Cycling Team | ,, |
| 10 | Rory Townsend | Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | ,, |
Ranking General
| 1 | Giovanni Lonardi | Team Polti Kometa | 11:04:17 |
| 2 | Enrico Zanoncello | VF Group – Bardiani CSF – Faizanè | 0:04 |
| 3 | Henri Uhlig | Alpecin – Deceuninck | ,, |
| 4 | Tobias Lund Andresen | Team dsm-firmenich PostNL | 0:06 |
| 5 | Filippo Conca | Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | 0:07 |
| 6 | David Lozano | Team Novo Nordisk | ,, |
| 7 | Tomasz Budziński | Mazowsze Serce Polski | 0:08 |
| 8 | Willie Smit | China Glory – Mentech Continental Cycling Team | 0:09 |
| 9 | Rory Townsend | Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | 0:10 |
| 10 | Merhawi Kudus | Terengganu Cycling Team | ,, |