Mark Cavendish is set to return to the race on the Turkish Presidential cycling tour, where he has fully recovered from a complex fractured collarbone sustained at the Tour de France.

Due to the great earthquake that struck the country, the 4th edition of the Tour of Turkey, which was postponed from the typical 10-month slot on the calendar to the 58th, will take place from 10/8 to 15th.

In 2021, Manxman used a tour of Turkey as part of his powerful comeback, winning 4 stages at the Tour de France. In a slightly modified version in the hope that history will repeat, Cavendish announced that he will return to the Peloton next year, signing a new deal with Astana-Kazakhstan and winning the 35th stage of the Tour de France.

But first, Cavendish will try to add more victories in the Tour of Turkey, a race that has more victories on stage than any other rider.

His chance will come early in the 135km Stage 1 from Alanya to Antalya, but Cavendish will be joined by Jasper Philipsen (the Alpecin de Belgians have already scored 15 wins this season and had a tough race in the wind in Friesland 3 days ago). It is the latest victory in the Elf Steden race.

The last time the two riders fought was in Stage 7 of the Tour de France, where Filipsen won ahead of Cavendish, who remained in second place despite mechanical problems. The next day, Cavendish crashed and Phillipsen won a total of 4 stages and a green Jersey.

The sprinter will have 2 more chances after the opening day, next on stage 165.3 km from Fethiye to Marmaris, next on Stage 4, then on the last 130.5 km from Istanbul to Sultanahmet.

The general classification could be determined by the extra difficult 104.1km Stage 3 starting at Fethiye, which culminates in the ascent of the steep winding road to Babadash. The 18.9 km final course is 1,937 m high, with an average slope of 10.8% and a slope of 16% for the final course.

This stage should be the perfect launchpad for Jay Vine and his UAE team Emirates to take the lead in the UCI team rankings. As of 9/29, the team had an advantage of 395 points in Jumbo-Visma, which has not raced in Turkey.

Stage 3 can also provide an opportunity for Australians to gain an advantage in the overall fight after winning the runner-up for 2 consecutive years and finishing in 2022 with 20 seconds and 2021 with 1 second. The 1,231 km hilly route tour of Turkey also presents many other opportunities for climbers, including Stage 6, which has a different mountain top finish.