The second stage of the Tour of Turkey will have been damaged. Nacer Bouhanni, the Arkea-Samsic team rider, was involved in a fall of several cyclists caused by a spectator who was walking in the middle of the road, 61 kilometers from the finish. The sprinter suffers from a fracture of the first cervical vertebra. “He is currently being treated at Izmir hospital. He will soon be repatriated to France for further medical treatment,” his team announced in a medical bulletin.
This second stage linking Selçuk and Alaçati (156.4 km) will definitely have done some damage. Involved in the same fall, his teammate Kevin Ledanois also withdrew for the rest of the race. He suffers from “significant trauma to the left knee and pain in the thoracic spine”, said Arkea-Samsic. Spanish outfit Burgos BH rider Manuel Peñalver will also not be at the start of stage three after suffering a broken elbow.
And as if that were not enough for the Breton formation Arkea-Samsic, its leader, Nairo Quintana, also fell. Favorite of the competition, the Colombian fell in the heart of the peloton, 3.4 kilometers from the finish line. His brother and teammate Dayer Quintana was also down. They both suffer from dermabrasions but will be well at the start of this 3rd stage, which will link Cesme to Izmir (117.9 km) this Tuesday.
Because of this fall, Nairo Quintana is now 1′44″ behind the race leader. Winner in the sprint of this second stage, the Australian Kaden Groves, from the BikeExchange-Jayco team, is the new leader. The Tour of Turkey has a total of eight stages.