Mark Cavendish wins third stage in a row in Tour of Turkey but sprint finish marred by huge crash

Mark Cavendish has won his third victory in as many days after again finishing first in the fourth stage of the Tour of Turkey on Wednesday.

Having already taken stages two and three on Monday and Tuesday, Cavendish held his sprint finish until the final 200 metres, catching Jasper Philipsen partway to the finish line and surging beyond the Belgian to take his third win in the eight-stage race.

There was also a big crash in the sprint finish, as other riders collided with the barrier.

Prior to this week it had been over 1,150 days since the last win for Cavendish, but this hat-trick has ended his three-year drought in style.

The Deceuninck – Quick-Step sprinter said on Tuesday after taking the third stage that he felt his “confidence is still coming back” and this latest win further extends his overall lead in the Tour of Turkey.

Philipsen in second and Stanislaw Aniolkowski completed the podium alongside Cavendish, but the group behind the top sprinters ended in a massive crash on both sides of the road as riders collided with the barriers. Ambulances were on the scene and safety concerns have been raised once more over the finishes to sprint stages.

While this fourth stage was a relatively flat 184km, the fifth is a far more uphill affair.

Racing from Kemer to Elmali, Cavendish and the rest will see elevation changes from 20m to 580m in the first 40km, before a drop back down to almost zero before the halfway stage.

By the end of the 160.3km stage, however, elevation will be at 1,828m in a gruelling start to the second half of the Tour.

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