At the end of April, Picnic PostNL finally manages to break the ice in this 2026. With a perfect sprint at the end of the 5th stage of the Tour of Turkey (the Patara-Kemer of 180.7 kilometers) Casper Van Uden has indeed given the Dutch team their first victory of the season, breaking a drought that had lasted since the Tour of Switzerland last year.

Behind the winner of the Lecce stage at last year's Giro d'Italia, Marcin Budzinski (MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort) took second place of the day, closing ahead of Nikita Tsvetkov (Bardiani CSF 7 Saber) and Dario Igor Belletta (Polti VisitMalta), the first Italian in a very Italian finish that also saw Davide Ballerini (5th), Stefano Oldani (6th) and Lorenzo Conforti (8th) close in the top ten.

In the general classification, on the eve of the second and final uphill finish, Ivan Sosa (Equipo Kern Pharma) maintains, not without some anxiety, the leadership in the general classification over Sebastian Berwick (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and a convincing Nicolas Breuillard (TotalEnergies), men who tomorrow, if their legs assist them, will surely launch an assault on the Turkish jersey (which today appeared quite shaky) of the Colombian.

THE RACE

A few kilometers from the start in Patara, the first to attempt a breakaway from the group are Lev Gonov (XDS Astana) and Tim Marsman (Alpecin-Premier Tech): the two, however, return almost immediately to the ranks and the same applies, after them, to Geoffrey Bouchard (TotalEnergies) and Rudolf Remhki (Muğla Büyükşehir Belediyesi Spor Kulübü). On the slopes of the first climb of the day it is then the turn of Matteo Regnanti (Solution Tech NIPPO Rali), Lucas Towers (Modern Adventure) and Lennert Teugels (Tartelletto-Isorex), joined in a second wave by the pair from Spor Toto Cycling Team Fertican Samli and Mustafa Tekin, to attempt to form a small group by launching an attack, but their attempt also comes to nothing.

Near the summit, a decisive change of pace in the group brings about a dozen men to gain an advantage: Fausto Masnada (MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort), Jon Agirre and Mikel Bizkarra (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Byron Munton (Modern Adventure), Sergio Samitier (Cofidis), Geoffrey Bouchard (TotalEnergies), Dario Giuliano and Fernando Tercero (Polti VisitMalta), Jose Felix Parra (Caja Rural Seguros RGA), Darren Van Bekkum (XDS Astana), Adrian Fajardo (Burgos Burpellet BH) and Santiago Ferraro (Bardiani CSF 7 Saber). They too, however, like what happened with the previous attacks, are caught by the group which, after the fleeting extensions of Mark Stewart (Modern Adventure) and the always active Aguirre also fizzle out, arrives in compact formation to compete for the bonus seconds at the first intermediate sprint of the day.

Won by Henok Mulubrhan (XDS Astana) ahead of Alessandro Fancellu (MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort) and Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies), the race heats up again and, around kilometer 90, ten riders (Lev Gonov, Mark Stewart, Timo De Jong from Team Picnic PostNL, Javier Ibáñez from Caja Rural - Seguros RGA, Xabier Isasa and Iker Mintegi from Euskaltel-Euskadi, Fabien Doubey from TotalEnergies, Owen Geleijn from Unibet Rose Rockets and Nicolas Debeaumarché from Cofidis) break away. Behind them, the men from Equipo Kern Pharma begin to control the situation but, with no one ahead capable of threatening Sosa's leadership, their slow pace allows the breakaway to gain two minutes of advantage.

Polti VisitMalta, MBH Bank and Solution Tech (all left out of the attack) however are not having it and, by imposing a decisive acceleration in the group, quickly bring the gap back to around 50 seconds, at which point, 41 kilometers from the finish, Nicolas Breuillard decides to launch an attack that has the effect of an explosive mine. Behind the Frenchman, indeed, the main contenders for the general classification move one by one and the group thins out, surprisingly also losing the general classification leader Ivan Sosa (Equipo Kern Pharma) who, not at all brilliant, loses contact.

Providentially helped by a teammate, the Colombian however manages not to sink and on the descent, 33 kilometers from the finish, he rejoins the front part of a group that in the meantime has gone to neutralize the previous action of the ten. The calm lasts only a few kilometers because at -29, with no team taking on the burden of controlling the race, a series of attacks and counterattacks begin that repeatedly put the scarce forty or so men at the head of the race under pressure. From this confusion, Breuillard tries to take advantage, restarting alone 26 km from the line, immediately gaining 15 seconds before, however, desisting upon seeing the effective chase produced behind him by the riders of XDS Astana.

Also neutralized the vain attack of Gianni Marchand (Tartelletto-Isorex), at the head of the peloton (which had meanwhile become rather large due to the return from behind of several men) it is precisely the Kazakh team that, calming the waters, ensures that without further upheaval we arrive to play out the success in a sprint for the fourth sprint in five stages. Here Van Uden takes advantage of Ballerini's slipstream to open the throttle at the right moment and find the acceleration that allows him to celebrate for the first time this year.

FINISHING ORDER

1. Casper Van Uden (NED/Picnic PostNL) - 4:06:09

2. Marcin Budzinski (POL/MBH Bank CSB Telecom-Fort) - s.t.

3. Nikita Tsvetkov (UZB/Bardiani CSF 7Saber) - s.t.

4. Dario Igor Belletta (ITA/Polti VisitMalta) - s.t.

5. Davide Ballerini (ITA/XDS Astana) - s.t.

6. Stefano Oldani (ITA/Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) - s.t.

7. César Macías (MEX/Burgos Burpellet BH) - s.t.

8. Lorenzo Conforti (ITA/Bardiani CSF 7Saber) - s.t.

9. Jonas Rickaert (BEL/Alpecin-Premier Tech) - s.t.

10. Henok Mulubrhan (ERI/XDS Astana) - s.t.

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

1. Iván Ramiro Sosa (COL/Equipo Kern Pharma) - 10:39:44

2. Sebastian Berwick (AUS/Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) at 0:13

3. Nicolas Breuillard (FRA/TotalEnergies) at 0:21

4. Alessandro Fancellu (ITA/MBH Bank CSB Telecom-Fort) at 0:36

5. Kamiel Bonneu (BEL/Solution Tech NIPPO Rali) at 0:40

6. Nicolas Vinokurov (KAZ/XDS Astana) at 0:50

7. Henok Mulubrhan (ERI/XDS Astana) at 1:03

8. Matteo Scalco (ITA/XDS Astana) at 1:03

9. Jordan Jegat (FRA/TotalEnergies) at 1:05

10. José Félix Parra (SPA/Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) at 1:07

OTHER CLASSIFICATIONS

Points Classification: Tom Crabbe (BEL/Flanders-Baloise)

Mountain Classification: Iván Ramiro Sosa (COL/Equipo Kern Pharma)

Team Classification: XDS Astana (KAZ)