Team BikeExchange-Jayco will return to the Tour of Turkey with in-form sprinter Kaden Groves hungry to add to his win tally at the eight-day stage race.
The Australian bagged his debut WorldTour victory at the Tour of Catalunya last month, following a string of consistent results in 2022, and the 23-year-old is confident in building on his recent performances as he heads to Turkey.
The team have assembled a powerful support squad around Groves, with Campbell Stewart, Kell O’Brien and Alexander Konychev all set to play key roles in the sprint lead out. Sam Bewley and Michael Hepburn’s experience with be vital for the young line-up, while Italian Kevin Colleoni will be given the freedom to attack the general classification.
The 57th edition of the race will start in Bodrum and features a series of potential sprint stages and one mountain finish at the Manisa Spil summit on stage four.
Team BikeExchange-Jayco Line-Up:
Sam Bewley (NZL)
Kevin Colleoni (ITA)
Kaden Groves (AUS)
Michael Hepburn (AUS)
Kelland O’Brien (AUS)
Alexander Konychev (ITA)
Campbell Stewart (NZL)
Kaden Groves:
“My season has been quite incredible so far. I had quite good results like for example the podiums at Tirreno-Adriatico in March and the win in Catalunya almost two weeks ago.
Since then, I took some time to recover and now my shape is good, so I’m looking forward to the Tour of Turkey. We have a very strong team, and we should have multiple sprints there, so my aim is to go for more wins.”
Gene Bates – Sport Director:
“Our goals for the week are to target the sprint stages with Kaden Groves and try for the overall with Kevin Colleoni. We have a very good group of riders here in Turkey, and looking at the 2022 route I’m quite sure that the guys will have plenty of opportunities to go for the sprint.
Obviously, Kaden is moving very well after his victory in Catalunya and will have some chances here too. There is only one mountain finish and we will go for it with our young climber Kevin.”
2022 Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey – Stages Details:
Sunday, 10th April, Stage 1: Bodrum – Kuşadası, 207km
Monday, 11th April, Stage 2: Selçuk (Efes) – Alaçatı, 158km
Tuesday, 12th April, Stage 3: Çeşme – İzmir (Karşıyaka), 123km
Wednesday, 13th April, Stage 4: İzmir (Konak) – Manisa (Spil), 147km
Thursday, 14th April, Stage 5: Manisa – Ayvalık, 192km
Friday, 15th April, Stage 6: Edremit – Eceabat, 205km
Saturday, 16th April, Stage 7: Gelibolu – Tekirdağ, 135km
Sunday, 17th April, Stage 8: Istanbul – Istanbul, 136km
Photo: Getty Sport
