Mark Cavendish took stage three victory and extends his lead in the overall standings at the Tour of Turkey 2021, beating Jasper Philipsen by almost a whole bike length.
Cavendish (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) launched his sprint first alongside André Greipel (Israel Start-Up Nation) while the rest of the sprinters bumped and barged behind. Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix) eventually made his way up to second.
The British sprinter also extends his overall lead thanks to the bonus seconds on the line and now leads Philipsen by eight seconds.
>>> Patrick Lefevere: ‘If I thought Mark Cavendish was done, I would not have taken him back’
Cavendish had not won since 2018 before yesterday's finish, but now the 'Manx Missile' has taken two-in-a-row in Turkey.
The day started in Beysehir before taking on 212.6km on an undulating profile to Alanya. The last 40km were largely flat though as they joined the coastline towards the popular resort town.
Throughout the day the pace was high with Israel Start-Up Nation keeping control of the peloton for Greipel, with the peloton catching the breakaway with around 20km to go.
After that, the pace started to rocket with multiple teams trying to control the pace. Israel Start-Up Nation timed their move to the front perfectly for their big sprinter with Deceuninck - Quick-Step sat just behind.
Various riders were bumping and barging to get onto the wheel of Greipel, Philipsen, and Cavendish. This continued all the way to the line as well with Kristoffer Halvorsen (Uno-X) almost crashing in the final 50 metres.
But it was Cavendish who came out on top as he kicked off his sprint early, choosing the other side of the road to his sprint rivals, using Greipel's lead-out man, Rick Zabel, as a slingshot.
After that, it was a battle for the British rider's wheel. Philipsen won that battle and finished with a lot of speed, but couldn't even begin to get by Cavendish in the closing stages. Polish champion, Stanisław Aniołkowski (Bingoal-Pauwels Sauces-Wallonie Bruxelles) managed to take an impressive third place.
Cavendish now holds a lead of eight seconds in the overall ahead of Philipsen with Arvid De Kleijn dropping to third overall at 10 seconds down going into stage four, a 184.4km route of largely flat terrain from Alanya to Kemar with another sprint expected.
Results
Tour of Turkey 2021, stage three: Beysehir to Alanya (212.6km)
1. Mark Cavendish (GBr) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, in 5-10-30
2. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
3. Stanislaw Aniolkowski (Pol) Bingoal-Pauwels Sauces-Wallonie Bruxelles
4. Kristoffer Halvorsen (Nor) Uno-X Pro Cycling
5. André Greipel (Ger) Israel Start-Up Nation
6. Manuel Belletti (Ita) Eolo-Kometa
7. Arvid De Kleijn (Ned) Rally Cycling
8. Lionel Taminiaux (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
9. Eduard-Michael Grosu (Rom) Team Delko
10. Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Bardiani-CSF-Faizane, all at same time
General classification after stage three
1. Mark Cavendish (GBr) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, in 10-03-14
2. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix, at 8 seconds
3. Arvid De Kleijn (Ned) Rally Cycling, at 10s
4. Kristoffer Halvorsen (Nor) Uno-X Pro Cycling, at 14s
5. André Greipel (Ger) Israel Start-Up Nation, at 16s
6. Stanisław Aniołkowski (Pol) Bingoal-Pauwels Sauces-Wallonie Bruxelles
7. Pierre Barbier (Fra) Team Delko, at same time
8. Artyom Zakharov (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech, at 17s
9. Garikoitz Bravo (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
10. Sean De Bie (Bel) Bingoal-Pauwels Sauces-Wallonie Bruxelles, at same time
Hi, I'm one of Cycling Weekly's content writers for the web team responsible for writing stories on racing, tech, updating evergreen pages as well as the weekly email newsletter. Proud Yorkshireman from the UK's answer to Flanders, Calderdale, go check out the cobbled climbs!
I started watching cycling back in 2010, before all the hype around London 2012 and Bradley Wiggins at the Tour de France. In fact, it was Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck's battle in the fog up the Tourmalet on stage 17 of the Tour de France.
It took me a few more years to get into the journalism side of things, but I had a good idea I wanted to get into cycling journalism by the end of year nine at school and started doing voluntary work soon after. This got me a chance to go to the London Six Days, Tour de Yorkshire and the Tour of Britain to name a few before eventually joining Eurosport's online team while I was at uni, where I studied journalism. Eurosport gave me the opportunity to work at the world championships in Harrogate back in the awful weather.
After various bar jobs, I managed to get my way into Cycling Weekly in late February of 2020 where I mostly write about racing and everything around that as it's what I specialise in but don't be surprised to see my name on other news stories.
When not writing stories for the site, I don't really switch off my cycling side as I watch every race that is televised as well as being a rider myself and a regular user of the game Pro Cycling Manager. Maybe too regular.
My bike is a well used Specialized Tarmac SL4 when out on my local roads back in West Yorkshire as well as in northern Hampshire with the hills and mountains being my preferred terrain.
-
Fabio Jakobsen on aiming for the Tour de France, lawsuit against Groenewegen and supporting CavendishThe Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl rider showed he is back to being one of the fastest sprinters around at the Vuelta a España
-
Mark Cavendish agrees contract extension terms with Deceuninck - Quick-Step
Patrick Lefevere says the deal is done to retain the sprinter for 2022
-
'I don’t want to end my time with the regret of not ever trying': Julian Alaphilippe wants to try and win Tour de France before retiring
The double world champion will focus on the Classics in 2022 but still has an eye on the French Grand Tour
-
Ghent Six crash 'ripped a hole in my lung behind my heart', reveals Mark Cavendish
The Manxman expects to be back on the bike in a matter of weeks
-
'Other things take precedence now': Patrick Lefevere says Mark Cavendish's contract talks on hold after Ghent Six Day crash
The 'Manx Missile' posted to social media thanking everyone for their kind words of support
-
Mark Cavendish abandons Six Days of Ghent on final day after hard crash
Racing was delayed for 40 mins after the incident
-
Patrick Lefevere frustrated as Mark Cavendish contract talks continue: 'It gets on my nerves that it drags on for so long'
Lefevere is at the Six Days of Ghent to try and finally put pen to paper
-
Mark Cavendish and Iljo Keisse up to third after second day of Ghent Six Day 2021
World and Olympic champions Michael Mørkøv and Lasse Norman Hansen are the new leaders
