Australian cyclist Sebastian Berwick (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) claimed the overall title of the Tour of Turkey on Sunday, following the eighth and final stage—a 105.2-kilometer route starting and finishing in Ankara, which was won by Belgian rider Tom Crabbe (Flanders-Baloise).
Berwick successfully defended his five-second lead over Colombian Iván Ramiro Sosa (Kern Pharma) heading into the day. The stage featured only one categorized climb, a third-category ascent at Mountain Primer (2.4 km at 5.3%), located 40 kilometers from the finish.
The stage was marked by continuous attacks that failed to break the peloton, as well as a tense moment midway through when Iván Sosa appeared to be dropped from the main group. He later recovered, only to find that Caja Rural had the race situation well under control.
In the sprint finish, Tom Crabbe was the fastest, securing his third stage victory in Turkey. He crossed the line ahead of Belgian Vermoote Jelle (Tarteletto-Isorex) and Polish rider Aniolkowski Stanislaw (Cofidis), who finished second and third respectively.
The general classification was won by Berwick, with just five seconds over Sosa in second place, while Belgian Kamiel Bonneu rounded out the podium in third, 59 seconds behind.
Among the top ten overall finishers, three Spanish riders made the list: Mikel Bizkarra (Euskaltel Euskadi) in seventh place at 1:47, Ibon Ruiz (Kern Pharma) in ninth at 2:17, and José Félix Parra (Caja Rural) in tenth at 2:37.
