“This week has been a dream" - Frank van den Broek takes GC victory at Tour of Turkey after neutralised final stage

Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL had a sensational 2024 Tour of Turkey, winning five stages and securing the general classification. The man who took the overall victory... 23-year-old Dutchman, Frank van den Broek.

“This week has been a dream," admits the stage 6 winner in conversation with his team's official website after his GC win was secured by a neutralised final stage due to weather concerns. "We started off on a high note with Fabio’s stage win on the opening day, then we took some learnings from stages two and three, and then Tobi started winning! On the mountain top finish day the boys supported me really well. I surprised myself by taking the win there and the lead in GC with it. We then focused on keeping the jersey and the extra sprint chances after that. It was a bit of shame that it rained so much today, but for the rider’s safety it was a good decision to neutralise the race I think. I’m very happy to take the GC win with the team and it has given me a lot of confidence for the races to come.”

Alongside van den Broek's stage win, Fabio Jakobsen also took one for Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL, with Tobias Lund Andresen even taking a hattrick of stages to compound the team's dominance. “After a really fruitful week in Türkiye for us we can conclude that the processes and way we are working is paying off," reflects sports director, Roy Curvers.

"On the sprint side of things we really made steps in how we are working together in the deep finals of stages and we see that the group is growing closer and closer together. While with Frank we had the plan to support him as well as possible, with a view towards the GC but without pressure or high expectations, so he could just learn what it is like to ride as GC leader. So for that to finally end up in a stage and GC win is a fantastic thing," Curvers concludes. "In general, it was also a week where we really showed our DNA as a group; with real teamwork leading to successes, making good plans as a unit, and with full support that gave our young talents the chance to explore their possibilities and abilities. We can all be proud of our week here.”