Patrick Bevin (Israel Premier Tech) won the 57th Tour of Turkey without having to defend the turquoise jersey he won in the second and final stage. The final day of racing on the streets of Istanbul was cancelled due to road and weather conditions.

The race started from the start line, but the dry start at Taksim Square did not last, and the decision was made to cancel stage 8 at the 25 km mark, bringing the 2022 edition of the Tour of Turkey to an early end.

"It was a very slippery surface," said Bevin, who won stage 7 from a three-man breakaway and led the race from Eduardo Sepulveda (Dronehopper-Androni Giocattoli). "We knew if it was going to rain we were going to have problems. On the first downhill there was a big crash at low speed and it was clear that the race wasn't going to go anywhere.

"I've never seen such a slippery surface. It's a shame that all of a sudden there was so much rain on the city streets. The conditions made it impossible to race. The group became one and I felt that there was no way to race safely. Once we got in touch with the commissaires, it was clear that we had to nullify the stage."

The decision to cancel the race was made immediately.

"I told the judges, 'You can't race. There is no way to a safe race,' " Bevin said. 'I'm disappointed. I feel bad for the Tour of Turkey. It's a shame to lose a stage in such a beautiful metropolis like Istanbul, but [canceling the final stage] was the right thing to do. As a rider, I cannot disagree with such a decision."

"Everyone is a little disappointed. It was the last stage after a great seven days. It's a shame for the race. We could have ended the week with a beautiful stage through a beautiful city, but in the end the safety of the riders was the priority. There was nothing we could do about it."

According to Bevin, he was told before the race that if it rained in the last 30 km, the time would be invalidated but the riders would have to fight for stage positions.

While the outcome of the race may have been disappointing, the result was a big win for Bevin, who took his first career overall win by 20 seconds over Australian Jay Vine (Alpecin Phoenix) and another 40 seconds over Sepulveda.

"Istanbul is a huge city. Coming from New Zealand, it was something we had never seen before. Once the pressure was off, even though it was rainy and cold, it felt great to run through the city."

"Overall, the Tour of Turkey was a really fun race. I have some great memories. I've finished second a lot in my career, so I'm really happy with yesterday's stage win and today's GC."

"It's a big win for me personally," Bevin said, adding that it also means a lot to his team, Israel Premier Tech. The team has had a tough start to the season," he said. We got off on the right foot in this race."