The 2026 Tour of Turkey comes to a close with the hat-trick of Tom Crabbe. Once again demonstrating his explosive finishing kick, the Belgian from Flanders Baloise (already victorious in the first and second stages) claimed the final stage with start and finish in Ankara, confirming himself as one of the most rising riders of this season.

Celebrating with equal enthusiasm at the finish line of the Asian race was also Sebastian Berwick (Caja Rural Seguros RGA) who, controlling the situation over the final 105 kilometers, secured the general classification ahead of Ivan Ramiro Sosa (Equipo Kern Pharma) by 5 seconds and Kamiel Bonneu (Solution Tech NIPPO Rali) by 59 seconds.

THE RACE

Starting in front of the presidential palace, the stage sees several riders immediately attempting to break away in the first of seven laps of the 15.5 km circuit on the program. The very high pace causes the peloton to fragment into multiple sections for extended periods, but everything, thanks especially to the efforts of Caja Rural of leader Sebastian Berwick, returns to normal after just a few kilometers.

The situation remains very fluid over the next three laps where, despite many riders (including Burak Abay from Konya Büyükşehir Belediye Spor, Feritcan Şamlı from Spor Toto Cycling Team and Arda Tekirdağ from Muğla Büyükşehir Belediyesi Spor Kulübü) continuing to launch attacks to create a more serious and defined breakaway attempt, the peloton always manages to neutralize every move.

During the third-to-last lap Tim Marsman (Alpecin-Premier Tech) and Eivind Fougner (Unibet Rose Rockets) escape decisively, managing through good cooperation to gain up to 1'15" on a group from which Byron Munton (Modern Adventure) launches a solo attack to catch the two leaders. He succeeds at the finish line marking the start of the final 30 kilometers, a moment when, behind the three escapees, TotalEnergies produces a team effort that breaks the peloton apart once again.

Caught off guard by this acceleration is second-placed Ivan Sosa (Equipo Kern Pharma) who, finding himself at the back, is forced to chase alongside other riders who, indirectly, play into his hands by allowing him to rejoin the main peloton. Once regrouped, Caja Rural and Flanders Baloise finally calm the contenders by setting the pace at the front, a move that prevents further attacks and, at the same time, reduces the advantage of the leading trio.

This group has only about twenty seconds remaining as they enter the final lap when, after a sudden slowdown, Picnic PostNL takes charge of the chase. Fully deployed at the front of the group, the Dutch team manages (not without difficulty) to close the gap on the leading trio in sight of the flamme rouge, after which, in the final 800 meters of climbing, Crabbe proves once again unstoppable for everyone, celebrating for the third time in eight days ahead of Jelle Vermoote (Tarteletto-Isorex) and Stanislaw Aniolkowski (Cofidis).

Behind the top three, Davide Ballerini (XDS Astana), Stefano Oldani (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Dario Igor Belletta and Gabriele Raccagni (Polti VisitMalta) finish respectively in fifth, seventh, ninth and tenth positions, bringing Italian flags into the top ten of the stage for the second consecutive day.

On the Italian front, the 2026 Tour of Turkey closes with the same number of victories (2) as 2025 and an overall number of top-ten finishes (25) higher than both last year's edition (19) and that of 2024 (11), while the count of Italian riders able to finish in the top ten of the general classification remains unchanged compared to 365 days ago: just as last season, this year too only one Italian managed this feat, and we're talking about Alessandro Fancellu, sixth at 1'20" from Berwick's Turkish jersey.

STAGE RESULTS

1. Tom Crabbe (BEL/Flanders Baloise) - 2:11:35

2. Jelle Vermoote (BEL/Tarteletto Isorex) - s.t.

3. Stanislaw Aniolkowski (POL/Cofidis) - s.t.

4. Nicolas Breuillard (FRA/TotalEnergies) - s.t.

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

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

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

8. Marc Brustenga (SPA/Equipo Kern Pharma) - s.t.

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

10. Gabriele Raccagni (ITA/Polti VisitMalta) - s.t.

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

1. Sebastian Berwick (AUS/Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) - 26:34:19

2. Iván Ramiro Sosa (COL/Equipo Kern Pharma) at 0:05

3. Kamiel Bonneu (BEL/Solution Tech NIPPO Rali) at 0:59

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

5. Nicolas Breuillard (FRA/TotalEnergies) at 1:14

6. Alessandro Fancellu (ITA/MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort) at 1:20

7. Mikel Bizkarra (SPA/Euskaltel-Euskadi) at 1:47

8. Henok Mulubrhan (ERI/XDS Astana) at 1:53

9. Ibón Ruiz (SPA/Equipo Kern Pharma) at 2:17

10. José Félix Parra (SPA/Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) at 2:37

OTHER CLASSIFICATIONS

Points Classification: Tom Crabbe (BEL/Flanders Baloise)

King of the Mountains Classification: Sebastian Berwick (AUS/Caja Rural-Seguros RGA)

Team Classification: XDS Astana (KAZ)