Following four consecutive wins for the Australians in the Tour of Turkey, New Zealander Patrick Bevin upset Argentine Eduardo Sepulveda on the eve of the grand finale in Istanbul's Taksim Square to upset the overall standings!

The Israeli PremierTech rider escaped with the stage win and overall victory, along with Australian Jay Vine (Alpecin Phoenix) and Frenchman Nicolas Ede (Arkea Samsic). Former Tour of Turkey leader Sepulveda (Dronehopper-Androni Giocattoli) finished 41 seconds behind the rest of the pack, which dropped him to third overall.

"I had planned to attack on the last climb this morning," Bevin, who won stage 7 in Terchidag, told Cycling News.

"This race was unbelievably hard. This race was incredibly hard. This race was incredibly hard. I got away from the pack on the last climb.

"I didn't worry too much about the stage. Mostly it was about making time overall, and the stage came up in the last kilometer. Obviously, the other guys didn't want to bring it into a sprint race, and I brought it into a sprint race.

Bevin escaped from the breakaway group by 2 seconds to take the long-awaited stage win. He had finished second on stage 4, the Queen stage, which surprised many considering he had barely raced this year, but he nevertheless seemed very disappointed to have missed out on the win in the Spill National Park. 'I've been second many times,' he said. I was in the mood for a sprint at the top of the climb. I had a good run.

"I don't have many wins (seven in my professional career). I'm an all-rounder, so it's hard to get my own race going, and I was disappointed because I knew it would be hard to make up time in the GC. So I was disappointed with my performance on the climbs. But I tried to do something yesterday and today."

Bevin's last victory came three seasons ago in the second stage of the 2019 Santos Tour Down Under.

"I broke my collarbone in the Tour de la Provence this past February. On my first race day after a really good offseason. After COVID, my partner and I didn't go home for a couple of years, but now we finally got to go to New Zealand." [I] trained really well in the off-season, and then I went back to Europe and trained really well. So it was kind of tough to miss the first few weeks of the season, but on the other hand, when I came back I was really strong and motivated to show what all the off-season training had done for me."

Bevin had been slowly closing in on the lead since moving into second place on stage 4. This sixth stage has special significance for Bevin, a New Zealander, because of its proximity to the Gallipoli Peninsula, where many Anzac soldiers lost their lives during the First World War. It's an important place for New Zealanders and Australians," Bevin said of the stage, which was won by Australian Caleb Yuan (Lotto Soudal). 'The finish on the hill above Anzac Inlet was really special. It's not often in cycling that you get a chance to connect with your hometown in a European race.

"It wasn't a win anywhere in the sport, but it was a stage to remember. It was a really fun day. I didn't have time to visit the cemetery, but that's something you do later in life. I'll be back, especially since I won today.

"I feel like the Aussies have taken a lot out of this race. It's a bit of a battle right now, about 4-1, but there is another stage tomorrow. It could be tricky conditions around Istanbul.

"It was really great. We came here as a sprint team. We have a big engine and we tried to do it as a GC team. It was a really cool experience for this team."

Israel-Premier Tech is not in a favorable position to retain its World Tour license for next year, but Bevin hopes the win in Turkey will be a turning point for the team.

"The start of the season has been tough for many teams, and it has been tough for our team as well, with illness and injuries. 'This is better than our results suggest. I believe we can get through the bad times and keep chipping away at it. We have enough class on this team, enough riders, and we're going to keep working hard.

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