Mustafa Sayar back in Tour of Turkey after doping ban

Turkish rider Mustafa Sayar is back in contention at the Presidential Tour of Turkey, a race he won in 2013 before being disqualified for failing an anti-doping test for EPO at the Tour of Algeria earlier that same year.

But this time around, he won't threaten race favourites Przemyslaw Niemiec (Lampre-Merida) and Pello Bilbao (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) as he lost almost eight minutes in stage 2 in Cappadocia after crashing at the beginning of stage 1 in Istanbul.

For the first time, Turkey's only continental team takes part in their national Tour with Turkish riders only, including up and coming Ahmet Örken who made the final cut of 15 breakaway riders on stage 2 in Cappadocia. For its 52nd edition, the tour unfolds in eight stages between April 24 and May 1. By the end of the eight-day race, over 120 cyclists will have ridden over 1,250 kilometers in Turkey's Aegean, Mediterranean, and central Anatolia regions.