Team Novo Nordisk’s Javier Megias finished in the front group on Tuesday’s Stage 3 of the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey. The 31-year-old Spaniard was satisfied with his overall finish on the queen stage and is confident with one challenging mountain stage remaining in the eight-day stage race.

The 165-kilometer stage started under sunny skies in Kemer. It ran along the coast before heading up to the snowcapped mountains surrounding Elmali. The day’s main break formed on the first categorized climb and the five-man group earned an advantage of 4 minutes 10 seconds. A diminished front group reeled them in as they hit the slopes of Göğübeli Mountain Pass. Team Novo Nordisk’s Charles Planet and Scott Ambrose remained with team leader Javier Megias until the final sections of the climb when an elite front group emerged. This group soon splintered with Davide Rebellin (CCC Sprandi Polkowice) and Kristijan Durasek (Lampre-Merida) proving strongest. Rebellin soloed to the win with Megias finishing 2:04 back in 12th position.

“It was a really hard and really fast stage. I felt good, even better than last year,” Megias said. “Hopefully this will continue over the next couple of stages and I can pass a few riders. I really need to thank all of my teammates, especially Scott and Charles, for all their help throughout today.”

Davide Rebellin (CCC Sprandi Polkowice) won the stage seven seconds ahead of Kristijan Durasek (Lampre-Merida) with Eduardo Sepulveda (Bretagne-Séché Environnement) rounding out the podium.

Team Novo Nordisk, the world’s first all-diabetes pro cycling team, continues racing at the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey on Wednesday with Stage 4. The 132-km begins in Fethiye and features one categorized climb, several smaller climbs, and one intermediate sprint before a flat finish into Marmaris.