Tour of Türkiye visits Aydın for the first time

Stage 2 of the Presidential Cycling Tour of Türkiye delivered a dynamic and selective day of racing as the peloton tackled rolling terrain between Aydın and Marmaris, with the stage also marking the first time the race has ever started in Aydın.

An aggressive nine-rider breakaway established itself early in the stage, quickly building a gap as the peloton settled into rhythm behind. However, the undulating terrain began to take its toll, and as the race progressed through the hilly middle section, the breakaway was gradually reduced. By the time the race entered its final phase, only three riders remained out front with 25 kilometers to go.

Behind them, the peloton was fully committed to setting up a bunch sprint, with teams organizing their chases and increasing the pace significantly. The breakaway’s advantage rapidly diminished under the sustained pressure, ensuring a high-speed and technical finale into Marmaris.

Team Novo Nordisk remained attentive throughout the stage, navigating the climbs and positioning well for the anticipated sprint finish. Filippo Ridolfo emerged as the team’s best finisher on the day, crossing the line in 16th place after a hectic and disrupted finale.

The final kilometers were marked by tension and technical challenges, including a crash that impacted positioning in the run-in to the line. Despite this, Ridolfo showed strong form to recover and finish just outside the top 15.

Reflecting on the stage, Ridolfo said:

“It was a relatively controlled day until the final climb, where the pace increased significantly. I was able to stay with the front group, although a few riders rejoined on the descent. The finale was quite technical and chaotic.

After the crash, I managed to regain positions quickly, but in the final 300 meters the road narrowed, making it difficult to move up further. Overall, it was a very fast and demanding finish.”

While the result did not fully reflect the team’s potential in the sprint, the performance highlighted strong positioning and resilience under pressure in a challenging race scenario.

With the race now heading into a decisive phase, attention turns to Stage 3, which will feature the first mountaintop finish of the race from Marmaris to Kıran (132.7km). The challenging uphill finale is expected to test the general classification contenders.