The Tour of Turkey drew to a close on Sunday with a fully neutralised final stage in Istanbul after race organisers announced a curtailment of the route.
The announcement came through early in the morning of the closing stage 8, with organisers stating “Due to the slippery condition of the roads, it’s been decided that stage 8 will be neutralised.
“The peloton will ride the planned route but only one lap instead of 5 and will proceed to Sultanahmet with the distinctive jersey holders at the front of the peloton.”
As a result, the peloton tackled a rainy ride on wet roads in Istanbul, rolling over the final fourth-category hill of the race and across the line without any contest.
The neutralisation, which saw three laps of the closing circuit taken out as well as the final 20km, meant that there would be no final chance for the sprinters to grab a win on the tricky 5%, 600-metre closing ramp.
It also meant that yellow jersey Frank van den Broek (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) could finish his…