Davide Ballerini made the most of a treacherous run into Antalya, winning stage 7 of the 2026 Tour of Türkiye after a nervy, rain-hit day that kept everyone on edge. The Italian surged late from a reduced bunch to take a long-awaited victory, edging out Marceli Bogusławski and Tom Crabbe. Once again, Victoria’s Riley Pickrell was right there, finishing 7th. He can add Saturday’s result to an 11th and a second in Türkiye.
The day was hardly straightforward, though. With roads slick from persistent rain, race organizers invoked extreme weather measures. That meant freezing GC times with 15 km to go and removing bonus seconds. The decision shifted the focus entirely on the stage dub.
Rain returns to make things oh-so-fun
Early on, attacks flew but never stuck. A small group eventually slipped clear, only to be reeled back as the peloton refused to gamble in the conditions. And then the rain returned in the finale…making it super sketchy. A late move dangled just ahead until the final kilometres, where the soaked roads, and a decisive corner inside the last km, split the field. Riders that were more concerned about simply staying upright, wisely sat up.
Several sprinters were caught out in the chaotic finish. Ballerini wasn’t. The Italian picked his lin and made a huge move to take a victory in the wild finale. Since everything was neutralized, the GC remains the same with Sebastian Berwick leading.
Pickrell came damn close to a win on Stage 4. “Coming into the finale we had the whole team lined out, holding me in great position and just letting me relax before such a chaotic finish. My teammate Mark Stewart and I wanted to leave it late because of the cross-headwind from the right. I had a good clean run,” the Modern Adventure Pro Cycling rider said.
Alpecin-Premier Tech’s Noah Ramsay finished safely at the back of the bunch–which was fine, anyway, given that no time would be taken. The Toronto native is a respectable 22nd overall, with one more day of racing left. Stage 8 is pretty flat, so maybe another shot for Pickrell?
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