Groves takes Tour of Turkey lead with victory in Stage 2

Kaden Groves has taken the overall lead in the Tour of Turkey after beating Jasper Philipsen and Sam Bennett in a bunch sprint in Alacati.

Kaden Groves of Team BikeExchange celebrates after winning Stage 2 at the Tour of Turkey Source: Getty Images

The Australian, who was boxed out in the opening stage, made no mistake in the second; demonstrating raw speed and power on his way to victory.

With overnight leader Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) finishing fifth behind Cees Bol (Team DSM), the turquoise jersey now belongs to Groves, with Philipsen of Alpecin-Fenix sitting two seconds behind.

An eight-man move featuring Jon Barrenetxea (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Peio Goikoetxea (Euskaltel-Euskadi) established the first breakaway of the 156.4-kilometre course, one that took riders from Selcuk to Alacati.

Alpecin-Fenix and Lotto Soudal set the tempo in the peloton and ensured the gap never got beyond 2:30 heading into the Cesme peninsula, where it was eventually reduced with 40 kilometres remaining.

Goikoetxea was the sole survivor of the break by that point but he, too, was soon brought back with the peloton as BikeExchange-Jayco and Team DSM joined Lotto Soudal and Alpecin-Fenix for the run-in.

A crash caused by the crosswinds briefly split the peloton with 26 kilometres to go, and again with 3.4 remaining as Nairo Quintana (Arkea-Samsic) went down.

BikeExchange-Jayco looked threatening from then on, as did Lotto Soudal who were hoping to set Ewan up for a repeat of his efforts in Kusadasi.

Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) moved onto Ewen's wheel in the closing kilometres but was forced to take the long way around after the Australian sat up before the finish line.

That sequence only heightened the stakes on the other side of the bunch, as Groves powered off Philipsen's wheel and across the finish line to cap off a fine team performance from BikeExchange-Jayco.

"It's amazing, I'm very happy to back up with another win this season," Groves said after the race, referencing his stage victory at the Volta a Catalunya. "I can't thank my teammates enough for such a great job.

"The run-in wasn't too bad because there was a tailwind from about 10km to go. So it was super-fast.

"We waited and waited until the exit off the big road with about 4km to go. We nailed the plan today, everyone knew their role and where they had to take us, it was pretty textbook in the end."