Tour of Turkey 2021 – ‘Beware everybody!’ – Mark Cavendish wins again with supreme sprint on Stage 3

ByEurosport

Updated 13/04/2021 at 14:25 GMT

“Beware everybody, he is well and truly back!” yelled Carlton Kirby on Eurosport commentary. And he wasn’t wrong. Cavendish swept to his second win at the Tour of Turkey with another terrific sprint, adding to his triumph on Monday’s Stage 2. Not bad for a rider whose most recent win before this race was in 2018.

Mark Cavendish stormed to victory on Stage 3 of the Tour of Turkey after another sensational sprint finish.

Having claimed his first win in three years 24 hours earlier, the 35-year-old made it back-to-back victories by finishing ahead of Jasper Philipsen and Staszek Aniolkowski.

At 212.6km, the Beysehir to Alanya stage was the longest of the race, but the Deceuninck-QuickStep rider rolled back the years to pull off another stunning displaying to claim victory.

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'Immensely proud' - Cavendish jubilant after Stage 3 win in Turkey

Cavendish's team-mate Iljo Keisse headed up the peloton as they caught the breakaway in the final 15km, opening up the opportunity for more Cavendish heroics.

The Brit positioned himself alongside Andre Greipel, who had the early lead with the rest of the sprinters jostling for position behind.

Cavendish then timed his sprint to perfection once again, pulling ahead in the final 100m and fending off his challengers to extend his overall race lead to eight seconds.

Speaking afterwards, Cavendish praised his team for delivering the win in challenging conditions.

Stage 3 highlights - Cavendish sprints to stunning double in Turkey

"It’s very nice," he said of the finish. "We tried to take it on from the front today and it worked but it was a difficult sprint to play.

"It was uphill, then straight downhill, on bricks, on clinkers, on cobblestones, and then the wind bouncing off buildings

"It was a real messy one to get right. It was a case of staying patient, the guys did an incredible job. It makes me immensely proud."

Cavendish also hinted that his win on Stage 2 on Monday had a galvanising effect on his overall performance.

"I’m still coming back. I had more confidence today to know I could do it," he added.

"It definitely gave me more confidence in myself."

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