Sacha Modolo obtained a worthy second place in the 2nd stage of the Tour of Turkey, 182 km from Alanya to Antalya.

Being so close to the first place always has a bittersweet taste, but LAMPRE-MERIDA's rider can be satisfied with his performance on the Turkish roads, considering that the 2nd place was obtained at the end of a head to head fight against Cavendish. The British rider beat Modolo who crossed the finish line ahead of Ruffoni, Molano and Colli.

The blue-fuchsia-green lead-out train was even stronger than in the first stage, despite the fact that Ferrari had been involved in two crashes that gave him abrasions. The Italian rider gave his contribution like Asian riders Xu Gang and Feng before Richeze led Modolo onto  the wheel of Cavendish for a head to head battle until the finish line.

“I feel more competitive each day, and I caught a glimpse of victory when I started my sprint 300m from the finish line, although Cavendish caught me just before the line," he said. "I and still looking for my first win of the season. I’m disappointed, because I did a good sprint, and I could have won. I wanted to win here, just like I want to win at the the Giro d’Italia next week, to give my team confidence.

"This second place is not enough to raise my arms to the sky but it gives me morale for the upcoming sprints. Here in Turkey I'm trying to find the legs for the Grio d'Italia, the race I am targeting and in which I want to regain the confidence of the team after a lackluster start to the season. "

Sports director Bruco Vicino said: "Despite the crashes that involved Ferrari and Feng, the stage was positive for us, the riders did good performances and the sprint by Modolo was good. We missed the victory but against a very powerfull Cavendish the second place is a good result".