Ballerini wins Tour of Türkiye’s 7th stage, Berwick keeps GC lead

Italian rider Davide Ballerini of XDS Astana Team claimed victory in the seventh stage of the 61st Presidential Cycling Tour of Türkiye on Saturday. The 31-year-old completed the 152.8-kilometer Antalya-Antalya circuit in three hours, 19 minutes, and 41 seconds, finishing ahead of Marceli Boguslawski of ATT Investments and Tom Crabbe of Team Flanders-Baloise. Sebastian Berwick of Caja Rural-Seguros Rga maintained the overall general classification lead with a cumulative time of 24 hours, 22 minutes, and 44 seconds, securing both the turquoise and red jerseys.

Jersey winners

Stage winner Ballerini claimed the green jersey, while the white jersey was retained by Turkish rider Mustafa Tarakci of the Konya BBSK Cycling Team. The eight-day tour will conclude on Sunday with the 105.2-kilometer Ankara-Ankara final stage. The Tour of Türkiye is categorized as a ProSeries event on the UCI Europe Tour calendar—the only race in Türkiye at that level.

Race profile

The route includes Mediterranean and Aegean coastal cities such as Izmir, Aydin, Mugla, and Antalya. Starting in Cesme, Izmir, and finishing in the capital Ankara, the race features 161 cyclists from 27 countries competing over 1,133 kilometers. For Türkiye, hosting such a high-level international cycling event showcases the country’s diverse landscapes and organizational capacity, even as the nation faces economic and geopolitical challenges. The presence of a Turkish rider retaining the white jersey is a source of national pride.