Sam Bennett has yet to win his first race of the season, but with a podium finish on the second stage of the Tour of Turkey, the Beulah Hansgrohe rider showed glimpses of the form needed for success.

The 31-year-old Irish sprinter, who was out of racing for four months last season due to a knee injury, finished second and third in the UAE Tour in February.

At the Tour of Turkey, Bennett managed to find enough speed to take third place while overcoming an unexpected easing of pace by first stage winner Caleb Yuan (Lotto Soudal).

"After the last corner I was sitting on Danny's wheel and the position was very good," Bennett said, referring to teammate Danny Van Poppel.

"When Caleb started his sprint, he wasn't fresh enough and didn't accelerate much. He tried to accelerate, but by then it was too late."

"He was a little too fast,"

"He was a little too slow.

Perhaps too late to challenge winner Kayden Groves (Bike Exchange-Jayco) and runner-up Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Phoenix), Bennett broke away from the back of Ewan and cleared third place with quick acceleration.

"I'm happy with the progress I've made in the last few weeks.

"I'm still a little short on top end power, but it's getting better and better.

The Bora-Hansgrohe team also managed to stay unscathed on a day marked by crosswinds and crashes. Bennett continues to gel up to find the final top-end power with the team, which rejoined after a tumultuous season at Detunink Quickstep.

"The team did a good job today," said Bora-Hansgrohe sport director Bernhard Eisel. [It was important to be in front when it mattered in the crosswind and we were safe there. Only Matt [Walls] crashed once, but he's fine."

"A tailwind final is always tricky. I was really nervous but the leadout went well. Sam is getting better and better. I just got the wheel position wrong today. I'm happy with his progress and optimistic about the rest of the sprint stages."