Today it was the last stage of the Tour of Turkey 2014 (Istanbul-Istanbul), the 50th edition of the race. I went to watch the stage.

In the morning, it was raining heavily. I usually go to watch the race in Istanbul by bike, but today I decided to use the mass transit. So I skipped the neutral start at Sultanahmet and went directly to the Asian side of Istanbul, where the peloton did 8 loops.

Rain in Bahçeköy, Istanbul
Rain in Bahçeköy, Istanbul

On the Asian side, the Sun showed its face and the temperature increased dramatically.

A five-man break eventually broke free of the peloton after 20 km of racing. However, the break’s contributors Valerio Conti (Lampre), Paolo Colonna (Bardiani-CSF), Javier Aramendia (Caja Rural), Tomasz Kiendys (CCC Polsat Polkowice ), Nazim Bakirci (Torku Sekerspor), Youcef Reguigui (MTN-Qhubeka), and Javier Megias Leal (Team Novo Nordisk) never gained more than 20 seconds over the peloton and finally, they were all mopped up by the sprint trains with 10 km to go.

Tour of Turkey 2014 stage 8, Istanbul-the break
The break. The escapees never gained more than 20 seconds over the peloton.
Tour of Turkey 2014 stage 8, Istanbul-a flat
Tour of Turkey 2014 stage 8, Istanbul-a flat tire

Mark Cavendish won the stage, his fourth win at this years’ Tour of Turkey. Viviani finished in second, and Guardini finished in third.

Mark Cavendish wins Tour of Turkey 2014 stage 8, Istanbul
Mark Cavendish and the passionate Turkish cycling fans.
Özgür Nevres with Davide Rebellin
After the stage, I am with Davide Rebellin.

M. Özgür Nevres

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