Having attacked with 1km remaining, Sam Bennett showed he's not just a sprinter. He easily hung on to claim victory; his third of the Tour of Turkey.
Sam Bennett takes solo win at Tour of Turkey
Sam Bennett has done something today that sprinters rarely do; won a race on his own. The Bora-hansgrohe man attacked with 1.5km remaining on the final stage of the Tour of Turkey.
Once clear he put his head down and had six seconds to spare on the line. He would have had more but for taking time to savour his win coming up the home straight.
On the same stage last year, the last of the race into Istanbul, Bennett was hot favourite to win but crashed on one of the last bends.
And that not only cost him the stage, but also the points classification despite winning four stages.
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This time around the memory of last year's slip up was clearly uppermost in Sam Bennett's mind. And so before those final bends were reached, Bennett took flight.
It allowed him negotiate the tricky final stretch solo. He also had the legs to finish the job.
His opting out of the bunch with an attack at the death proved a wise choice. There were crashes behind, leading to a chaotic finish for everyone else.
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In that chaos the top of the general classification was rearranged; Alexey Lutsenko losing the race in the home stretch.
The Astana man had won the queen stage, from a group of 13. And he only ever enjoyed modest gaps on those immediately behind; picked up in time bonuses for his stage win.
Today Eduard Prades (Euskadi-Murias) came through for 2nd on the stage. He had begun today's final leg 4th overall at six seconds.
But his time bonus seconds today were enough to draw him level on time with the Astana race leader.
Furthermore, the 2018 title was secured by Prades on count back; a huge WorldTour win for the unheralded 31-year-old.
Lutsenko ran out 2nd overall, with Nathan Haas of Katusha-Alpecin in 3rd at four seconds. Nicolas Roche of BMC retained his 10th place in the final overall.
Sam Bennett solo win
Sam Bennett stays clear of the carnage to win the final stage of the Tour of Turkey in Istanbul! @Sammmy_Be #tourofturkey pic.twitter.com/4CeEKqW7Hi
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) October 14, 2018
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