Tour of Turkey 2021 - Jose Manuel Diaz takes overall lead as Mark Cavendish streak ends

ByRichard Newman

Updated 15/04/2021 at 15:50 GMT

The Spanish Delko cyclist got the better of Jay Vine and Eduardo Sepulveda to take control of the general classification, reeling in Danish rider Anthon Charmig to win an exhausting incline finish. It ended Mark Cavendish’s run of three straight victories. You can watch the Tour of Turkey on Eurosport, the Eurosport app and eurosport.co.uk

Jose Manuel Diaz came from behind to win Stage 5 at the Tour of Turkey, claiming victory in a relentless incline finish to take the overall lead by four seconds.

The Spanish Delko rider was one of three who chased down Denmark’s Anthon Charmig (Uno-X), along with Jay Vine (Alpecin–Fenix) and Eduardo Sepulveda (Androni Giocattoli–Sidermec).

With 10 kilometres to go, Joel Suter (Bingoal WB) made a solo break - a move which did not last long as the rest of the peloton closed in.

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But 23-year-old Charmig saw his opportunity with around 4km remaining, leading a solo attack of his own before quickly tiring heading into the final kilometre.

Weaving all over the road in the last 700m, Diaz, Vine, Speulveda and Merhawi Kudus (Astana–Premier Tech) reeled in the Dane, who faded to an eventual seventh-placed finish.

Diaz waited for his moment before attacking in the final 100m, taking the lead in the last 50m before crossing the line first.

Highlights: Diaz storms brutal hill sprint to take Stage 5 victory

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The win ended three straight victories for Britain’s Mark Cavendish, who was never going to be in contention for a mountain stage and will be pleased to simply finish the day.

Diaz’s lead is four seconds from Vine, with Sepulveda a further two seconds back.

Friday’s Stage 6 is an undulating route, which features a downhill and then flat finish.

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