The flat opening stage of the 2025 Tour of Turkey duly delivered a sprint finish with Simon Dehairs (Alpecin-Deceuninck) taking the victory at the end of 132km of racing in Antalya.
The Belgian rider’s first professional victory came at the expense of Matteo Malucelli (XDS-Astana) after the pair faced off in the final drag to the finish line.
Following a final corner crash in Picnic-PostNL’s lead-out, Alpecin-Deceuninck hit the front with a mini lead-out of their own inside the final kilometre, timing the final launch to perfection as Dehairs sprinted home.
Malucelli ran the 23-year-old neo-pro close at the line, just missing out on victory by less than half a wheel, while Jules Hesters (Flanders-Baloise) rounded out the…
