Govekar wins Tour of Antalya second stage

TDT | Manama                                                      

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Team Bahrain Victorious rider Matevz Govekar sprinted to victory yesterday in the second stage of the Tour of Antalya in Turkey. Govekar triumphed in the 140.5-kilometre leg to register the squad’s second win of the 2024 international season under the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).

The Turkish event is under the UCI Europe Tour’s 2024 calendar. The Slovenian ace put in an impeccable performance to put Team Bahrain Victorious on the podium once more, following Alberto Bruttomesso’s thirdplace finish in the opening stage. Yesterday’s leg presented a challenging climb midway through the route, posing a test for the peloton.

Despite the possibility of a reduced bunch sprint, Team Bahrain Victorious remained strategic and patient, ultimately executing their plan flawlessly as Govekar stormed to his second victory for the team. “I’m thrilled with this victory,” said Govekar, who is first on the general classification. “It was planned to go for this stage, as I knew that it suited me really well because of the long and hard climbing in the middle of the stage.

The team worked well; we were patient and waited following the attacks. I did my best in the sprint, and I’m super happy I could finish this one.” Govekar finished ahead of Kenneth Van Rooy of Bingoal WB and Giovanni Lonardi of Team Polti Kometa. The Tour of Antalya continues today with the third and penultimate stage over 136.7km.

Tomorrow’s final stage will be held over 185.4km. Team Bahrain Victorious are competing with a young, six-rider team in Turkey—a line-up that includes Bahrain national team rider Ahmed Madan, who was yesterday classified 127th from 165 competitors.

The others are Italian Edoardo Zambanini (20th yesterday), Briton Finlay Pickering (34th), Italian Alberto Bruttomesso (80th), Chinese-Taipei rider Chih Hau Tu (113th) and Australian Cameron Scott (115th).