The Tour of Turkey finished today with a stage that started and arrived in Istanbul. After just over 23 kilometers eight local laps of 12.2 kilometers followed in the city.

 

At the end it was up to the sprinters. The victory was for Mark Cavendish. Kris Boeckmans got fourth and that for the third time this stage race. Lead-out Greg Henderson became fifth.

 

Adam Yates is the overall winner. Lotto Belisol rider Adam Hansen is 9th in the overall classification of the Tour of Turkey at 58" of Yates.

 

André Greipel, who made his comeback after his crash in Ghent-Wevelgem, wanted to avoid any risks and worked for the team past week. In the opening stage the team let Jonas Van Genechten do the sprint. He finished in the eighth place. Kris Boeckmans returns home with three fourth places, which he gathered today and in stages two and seven.

 

In the queen stage on Tuesday Adam Hansen belonged to the better riders in the race. He did an attempt to catch up with Rein Taaramae and Adam Yates, but they were gone.

 

The Australian rider, who will start his eighth Grand Tour in a row on Friday, got stranded on place seven in a chase group. In the mountain stage on Friday he finished as ninth, which is also his ranking in GC.

 

"We can look back on the Tour of Turkey in a positive way," sports director Jean-Pierre Heynderickx said. "Not really due to the results, but due to the condition of the riders.

 

"André Greipel showed he's in a good shape. He did a lot of work for the team. To spare his shoulder, he didn't want to take any risks and decided not to sprint. In the next races he will definitely be ready.

 

"We might have expected Adam Hansen a bit higher in the ranking, but he made a strong impression uphill and is ready for the Giro. The same goes for Gert Dockx, who made his first appearance after he fractured his collarbone in Dwars door Drenthe.

 

"I saw grinta again with Kris Boeckmans. The sprints here in Turkey gave him confidence."