The 51th Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey finished with the 8th and last stage of 121km in Istanbul.

The final day presented a city circuit to ne done 10t times and then two tricky final kilometers in the heart of the city with narrow streets, sharp turns and cobblestones. This kind of scenario wasn’t the best for a bunch sprint and Lluis Mas (Caja Rural) took the victory with a late attack.

The peloton crossed the line just behind with Mark Cavendish (Etixx – Quick Step) in 2nd position. First for Bardiani – CSF was Enrico Barbin in 19th who gained one position in the overall classification due to a crash and withdrawal of Davide Rebellin (CCC). In the final top 20, the team also has Enrico Battaglin in 18th.

”After a solid work in the central part of the stage, we lost a bit before the start of the last 2km of narrow streets," sports director Mirko Rossato said. "But I can understand our riders who avoided taking too many risks with the Giro d’Italia approaching. However I can be happy with how we raced during the whole Tour of Turkey. We were on the podium three times, we got several top 10 results and 7th on GC with Barbin who improved a lot from last year's edition. I’m also pleased with the attitude shown by all riders. I’m sure that those who will go to the Giro d’Italia, will have a great shape and the possibility to win already in the first stages."