As predicted, stage 1 of Tour of Turkey came down to a bunch sprint decision, where Tinkoff-Saxo’s Michael Kolar finished sixth behind stage winner Mark Cavendish. The final burst for the line came after an extended, high-speed run in into Alanya, where a hectic fight for positioning took place. Following the stage finish, Tinkoff-Saxo DS Nicki Sørensen declares himself satisfied with the team performance.

“I was very happy with the team's commitment and the way the riders executed the game plan. For me that's the most important aspect from the opening stage of the 2015 Tour of Turkey. We had a good group and sixth place is a good result to start the race”, says Nicki Sørensen, who notes that team sprinter Michael Kolar has found the legs ahead of the coming sprinter’s duels.

“More importantly, Michael Kolar was in good shape and he feels he has more to give in the following days. That's also a good sign for the following days and I have to admit I'm happy with the guys”.

 Stage 1 took the peloton on a 145-kilometer parcours on mostly flat roads starting and finishing in the seaside town of Alanya. Leading into the final kilometers, Tinkoff-Saxo positioned most of the team at the front of the speeding pack in order to set up Michael Kolar. Nicki Sørensen asserts that the sprint decision didn’t come as a surprise.

 “It was written all over this was going to be a sprinter's stage and that's exactly the way it played out. We knew about it, we had planned about it and the key point of the stage was going to be the absolute final stretch”, finishes the team sports director ahead of a slightly more undulating day on stage 2.