The seaside resort of Kemer, lying on the beautiful Mediterranean coast of Turkey, witnessed another mark in the seeming return of Mark Cavendish along with a huge milestone for the Deceuninck – Quick-Step team – the squad’s 800th win in a UCI race.
The veteran Manxman nabbed his third win in three days at the Tour of Turkey on Wednesday, beating Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix) into second place for the third straight day as his stunning return to form continued.
In a messy sprint in Kemer, which saw several riders go through the barriers and ambulances called, Cavendish bided his time, recognising that Philipsen – who must be getting increasingly desperate – had gone too early, before powering past the Belgian to win the 184km stage from Alanya.
If there’s one thing that Deceuninck – Quick-Step knows, it’s how to train and run a sprint team. The riders bided their time until just 10km remained in the race before making their way to the front with Fabio Jakobsen slotting the lead-out train into position before Stijn Steels stretched out the peloton with an enormous pull.
Shane Archbold and Alvaro Hodeg did a spectacular job ahead of the final kilometers, bringing Cavendish to the head of the bunch just as things were heating up, and he delivered another huge sprint, bursting clear from the pack with 150 meters to go and sweeping past Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix) on the way to his tenth victory at the race.
“It’s nice, and to be sincere, it’s irrelevant how many wins are in a row, it’s just nice to win again. It’s great that the team believes in me and I’m grateful to them for that. At the beginning of the year all I wanted to do is win a race, and now I have done it three times. I’m proud to have racked up Deceuninck – Quick-Step’s 800th victory, but to me the most important thing is that I’m part of this family, which is an honour.”
“The most special thing about today wasn’t my win, but seeing how far into the stage Fabio got. It was beautiful to see him there, doing a phenomenal job for the squad and enjoying racing. Having him up there motivated me to finish it off. I’m proud to have such amazing teammates, and at the end of the day, that is what really makes everything special”, added Tour of Turkey overall leader Mark Cavendish.
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