Published on : 04/26/2026
The Tour of Turkey kicked off for Team Cofidis on Sunday, April 26, 2026. On a first stage tailored for sprinters, Stanislaw Aniolkowski finished in 14th place.
The Tour of Turkey started in Çeşme on Sunday, April 26, 2026. On this first stage, covering 148.7 km toward Selçuk, the route set by the organizers favored the sprinters. A tightly bunched peloton entered the streets of the finish town. In the subsequent sprint finish, Stanislaw Aniolkowski took 14th place.
The reaction
Gorka Gerrikagoitia, sports director:
"It was an easy 150-kilometer stage, an almost flat stage where five riders broke away at the 10-kilometer mark. They were kept in check by Team Picnic PostNL and, above all, Alpecin-Premier Tech. We pushed a bit at the end with Sergio Samitier. The plan was to go for the final sprint with Stan, but he started having stomach issues, with diarrhea 40 kilometers from the finish. So it wasn’t possible to mount a better sprint. He finished in 14th place, but I think he was well-positioned. We don’t have a great lead-out team, even though we had Camille Charret for the final push. I don’t think it was enough. He wasn’t able to get into position for a good sprint."