Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates) today captured his first overall win in a WorldTour stage race. The Italian maintained his 12″ lead over Jesper Hansen (Astana Pro Team) on the final stage of the Tour of Turkey to clinch the win. Fausto Masnada (Androni-Sidermec-Bottechia) finished a further 12″ down on GC to take third.

The final 143.7-kilometre stage starting and finishing in Istanbul was won by Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo) and Ulissi finished in 6th place in the same time as the stage winner.
The win capped off a successful season for the Italian. In addition to his win on the fourth stage and the overall at the Tour of Turkey, Ulissi also took victories in the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal (1.UWT) and the Grand Prix Costa degli Etruschi (1.1).

“Today my team mates again did a great job, helping me to stay in the positions at the head of the pack as we approached the last uphill of the route,” said Ulissi.

“It was the crucial moment of the stage, we did a good job avoiding all risks. I preferred to use some energy to stay out front rather than run any risk. I came to Turkey with the intention to win the general classification.

“It was a challenging goal, but my team mates and I have been impeccable all week, a magnificent week. I thank the entire team and our sponsors, I’ve closed out the season in the best way possible.”

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