Heading into the Tour of Turkey, many were looking forward to seeing what Sacha Modolo could do against the likes over Mark Cavendish and André Greipel but with the Italian struggling from a rib injury, it has been youngster Niccolo Bonifazio who has shown off the Lampre-Merida colours. After finishing 4th yesterday, the youngster impressed even more by taking third in today's second stage.

The Tour of Turkey has assembled one of the strongest fields of sprinters that will be seen in any race this year and so far they have been completely dominated by Mark Cavendish. Just below the fabulous Brit in the hierarchy, however, one finds a surprising youngster from Italy.

Heading into the classics, Niccolo Bonifazio got some attention as he was the youngest rider in both the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix but before this week he had never made any headlines by virtue of his result. That has suddenly changed as he has turned out to be the most consistent sprinter in the Tour of Turkey after Cavendish.

In yesterday's opening stage he finished fourth and today he did even better when he made it onto the podium, crossing the line in third behind Cavendish and Francesco Chicchi. With no bonus seconds in the race, the results have elevated him into second on GC, a fabulous result for the 20-year-old neo-pro.

Heading into the race, Sacha Modolo was expected to lead the line for Lampre-Merida in the sprints but the Tour of Turkey is his first race since bruising his ribs in a crash at the Paris-Roubaix. Hence, Bonifazio has been given a rare chance to shine and he has grabbed it with both hands.

“I didn’t expect to do that well on this Tour of Turkey as a neo-professional," he said. "But the team gave me freedom to express myself because Sacha Modolo is not in a condition to do the sprints. He suffers from his ribs after his crash in Paris-Roubaix.

"I was the youngest rider in the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. The classics helped me feel more at ease in the peloton before coming to Turkey. I’m glad I had two chances to sprint in two days.”