The organizers of the Tour of Turkey have unveiled the course for the 50th edition of the race which takes place from April 27 to May 4. The race that serves as a perfect warm-up for the Giro d'Italia will follow a very traditional pattern with several opportunities for the sprinters and the well-known summit finish on the Elmali and Selcuk climbs set to determine the overall winner.

The Tour of Turkey may have a long history but in recent years, the race has gained a lot of prestige and international recognition. By being elevated in the UCI hierarchy, the organizers have managed to attract a host of WorldTour teams and the race now has a reputation of being perfect preparation for the Giro d'Italia, especially for the sprinters.

The race hopes to play a similar role in 2014 when the 50th edition will be run from April 27 to May 4, and today the organizers unveiled the course for the event. There were no big surprises, with the 8-stage race set to follow a very traditional format.

The race is known for its many sprint stages and the 2014 edition again seems to smile to the fast finishers. 5 stages can be expected to end in bunch sprints while three stages will suit the climbers and determine the GC.

As usual, the race kicks off with a short 144.7km stage starting and finishing in Alanya that should allow the sprinters to come to the fore. They will again be expected to shine on stage 2 which skips the usual finish in Antalya to make room for an unprecedented visit to Kemer.

As it has been the case for the past two editions, the third day is the one for the queen stage that finishes atop the Elmali climb, known as Turkey's Alpe d'Huez. The climb has been the scene of some exciting racing for the past two years and will again be the main decider in the overall battle.

The fourth stage will be one for the strongest sprinters as the stage from Fethiye to Marmaris will again include a climb very close to the finish, ruling out a win for a pure sprinters. They will get their chance on the fifth stage that returns to Turgutreis and should offer a bunch sprint.

Last year, the organizers introduced the climb to Selcuk for the first time and the ascent will be back for the 6th stage. The climb will determine the final GC as the race ends with two sprint stages in Izmir and Istanbul respectively - the latter being famously known for its passing of the Bosporus bridge that makes it visit two different continents.

The race has seen some of the best sprinters dominate the proceedings, with Andre Greipel and Marcel Kittel both taking multiple stage wins in the past two editions. However, the race has also had a tarnished reputation, with its two most recent winners Ivailo Gabrovski and Mustafa Sayar having both tested positive for doping.

Sayar has not yet been disqualified but if that happens, Natnael Berhane will be awarded the overall win in the Turkish race.

Stage 1, Alanya> Alanya: 144.7 km 
Stage 2, Alanya> Kemer: 174.2 km 
Stage 3, Finike> Elmali: 184.7 km 
Stage 4, Fethiye> Marmaris: 124.3 km 
Stage 5, Marmaris> Turgutreis: 177.3 km 
Stage 6, Bodrum> Selcuk: 183.1 km 
Stage 7, Kusadasi> Izmir: 144.8 km 
Stage 8, Istanbul> Istanbul: 121.0 km