Results Tour of Turkey 2026 Stage 5 | Casper van Uden wins in Kemer as Team Picnic PostNL deliver perfect lead-out

Casper van Uden sprinted to victory on Stage 5 of the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey, capping off a textbook lead-out from Team Picnic PostNL after a hard day in the hills.

In a reduced bunch sprint in Kemer, van Uden surged clear after Davide Ballerini launched early, timing his effort to perfection to take the win after 180.7 kilometres of racing. The Dutch rider’s victory came after his team committed fully in the closing kilometres, hitting the front with six riders inside the final three kilometres to take control of the finale and keep their sprinter out of trouble.

The longest stage of the race had been shaped by a large and ever-changing breakaway, with ten riders up the road for much of the day. That move held a small advantage heading into the final third of the stage, but the decisive phase came on the late climbs, where repeated accelerations reduced the peloton significantly and briefly distanced general classification leader Ivan Ramiro Sosa.

Riders such as Nicolas Breuillard and Fabien Doubey were active during this phase, forcing splits and contributing to the overall fatigue in the bunch. Despite that pressure, the race gradually came back together inside the final 30 kilometres as the climbing eased and organised chasing resumed behind.

With the race regrouped, sprint teams took over in the run-in to Kemer. XDS Astana Team and others moved forward, but Team Picnic PostNL delivered the most cohesive effort, assembling in numbers at the front and controlling the pace into the final kilometre.

Ballerini opened the sprint first, but van Uden held his line and produced the fastest finish in the closing metres to secure the stage win.

The finish in Kemer once again favoured the fast men, continuing a pattern seen in previous editions despite the demanding terrain earlier in the day.

After a stage that combined sustained climbing, repeated attacks and a long breakaway battle, the outcome ultimately came down to positioning and timing, with van Uden and Team Picnic PostNL executing both to perfection.