The Turkish Riviera welcomed top cyclists from around the world Sunday when the Tour of Türkiye kicked off in the Aegean coastal city of Izmir.
The eight-day tour is the only race in Türkiye categorized as ProSeries on the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Europe Tour calendar.
It features a course featuring some of the country's beautiful Mediterranean and Aegean coastal towns, including Izmir, Aydın, Muğla and Antalya.
Starting in Çesme, Izmir, the tour will end in the Turkish capital, Ankara, on May 3.
By the end of the race, a total of 161 cyclists from 27 countries will have traveled 1,133 kilometers (704 miles) along the Turkish Riviera.
The only "intercontinental bicycle tour" in the world will host 23 teams, including three world tour teams, 14 professional teams, and six continental teams.
"TUR 2026" will be broadcast live internationally on Eurosport and domestically on TRT Spor, showcasing Türkiye's beauty and cycling culture to a global audience.
Last year, Wout Poels of the XDS Astana Team won the 60th edition, followed by Poels' teammate Harold Martin Lopez in second, and Team Picnic PostNL's Guillermo Juan Martinez in third.
Cyclists who complete the tour in the shortest overall time, along with those leading in sprint points on each stage, will wear four different colored jerseys.
The leaders will be identified as follows: the turquoise jersey for the general individual classification leader, green for the best sprinter, white for the leader of beauties of Türkiye sprint primes, and red for the best climber, aka the "King of the Mountains."
Traditionally organized by the Turkish Cycling Federation, the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey started in 1963 as the Marmara Tour.
It gained international status for the first time in 1965 and the next year was put under the auspices of the Turkish presidency.
The Tour of Türkiye was upgraded to the 2.1 category by the International Cycling Union (UCI) in 2008 and to Hors Category (2. HC) in 2010.
Beginning in 2017, the tour was included in the UCI World Tour calendar for three years.
Suspended in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the race was included in the newly created UCI ProSeries in 2021 and 2022.
In 2023, it was held under the UCI Europe Tour 2.1 race, and in 2024, it returned to the ProSeries races.
Considered one of the world's most prestigious cycling events, this year's Presidential Cycling Tour of Türkiye will be its 61st edition.
| Cyclist | Country | Stage wins |
| Andre Greipel | Germany | 11 |
| Mark Cavendish | Great Britain | 11 |
| Sam Bennett | Ireland | 9 |
| Jasper Philipsen | Belgium | 7 |
| Svetoslav Tchanliev | Bulgaria | 6 |
Stage 1: (April 26) Çeşme-Selçuk, 148.7 kilometers
Stage 2: (April 27) Aydın-Marmaris, 152.8 kilometers
Stage 3: (April 28) Marmaris-Kiran, 132.7 kilometers
Stage 4: (April 29) Marmaris-Fethiye, 130.4 kilometers
Stage 5: (April 30) ancient city of Patara-Kemer, 180.7 kilometers
Stage 6: (May 1 ) Antalya-Feslikan, 127.9 kilometers
Stage 7: (May 2) Antalya-Antalya, 152.8 kilometers
Stage 8: (May 3) Ankara-Ankara, 105.2 kilometers
