Lund Andresen praises team leader Jakobsen, Van Poppel remains determined in Turkey despite new setback

Tobias Lund Andresen emerged victorious on Wednesday afternoon in a sprint from a reduced peloton in the Tour of Turkey. The Danish sprinter from DSM-Firmenich PostNL triumphed after a chaotic sprint, stepping up in the absence of his team captain Fabio Jakobsen to save the day for his team. To top it off, he also donned the leader's jersey. After the race, he discussed his victory, his role in the team, and the future.

"People who might be watching this tour don't realize how much climbing there is," Andresen began. "The so-called flat days are not really flat; there’s a lot of climbing involved. Much of the day the roads are in poor condition, it almost feels like we're riding over cobblestones. It was difficult to maintain traction, but it suits me," said the rider, who also suffered a puncture in the finale but remained remarkably calm and managed to catch up. The breakaway looked set to succeed for much of the race, but the last escapees were caught in the final straight. Andresen timed his sprint perfectly.

Andresen sees Jakobsen as a team player: "He kept encouraging me."

"This victory is great for my confidence. I have it in myself already, but guys like Fabio Jakobsen really help," the Dane continued. "Even though he was dropped early today, he encouraged me to go for my chance. He didn’t have the legs today but gave me a lot of motivation. It's fantastic that I now have the leader's jersey. I want to continue focusing on these kinds of stages in the future. I can sprint well, but I'm somewhere in the middle. I can't handle the steep mountains, but I can manage the smaller hills. That's what I’ll focus on," said the day's winner.

Van Poppel remains undeterred in pursuit of success in Turkey: "Legs are still strong"

Danny van Poppel, representing BORA-hansgrohe, finished second in the sprint. The Dutchman won the previous day, but was later relegated in the standings. Wednesday saw him close again. Despite this, he showed resilience afterwards on the team channel. "Today was very tough and the heat took its toll. Nevertheless, I'm glad I could sprint for the win again. After yesterday, a victory would have been especially welcome, but I'm happy that my legs are still strong."