After winning the first stage of the 57th Presidential Tour of Turkey, Caleb Yuan had to wait until stage 6. And it was a bit of an uphill sprint, as his preparation for Milan-San Remo paid off. On the other hand, at his current form, he cannot win a standard group sprint on flat terrain. [Caleb Yuan told Cycling News in Echabat on the Gallopoli peninsula. 'The first and sixth stages were two different finishes. 'The first one was a pretty fast sprint and this one was obviously a hard finish. I'm happy to get those two. To be honest, I prefer the finale with a little bit of a hill, like today. A climb like this one is just too long for me. It was a bit painful, but it was enough for the sprint at the end. I like hard stages, so the last stage in Istanbul suits me, including the excitement at the finish. Tomorrow will be pretty hard too."

The Lotto-Soudal sprinter is still recovering from missing out on Milan-San Remo, a major goal for early 2022. He said, "A few weeks ago, I was quite ill.

"I missed some important races, had to take almost 10 days off the bike, and only resumed training two weeks before the Tour of Turkey. So I knew my form wasn't the best. But it was very important to come to this race and progress throughout the race.

"The team is doing a really good job and it's a shame we can't finish it. I was feeling good today. It was a long stage, pretty hard, and there were some stressful moments during the stage, but like I said before, this finale is better for me now than a super fast finish. Usually when I'm in good shape, the fast finishes suit me too."

"The super-fast group sprints don't really suit me because I'm a small sprinter. Philipsen is a world-class sprinter, so he has to be pretty strong. He always wins Grand Tours with hard stages. I think the same is true for me. But in a sprint like yesterday, you need to be fast, but as long as you get in the right position, you can win. It's pure strength."

Ewan had the sixth stage of the Tour of Turkey bookmarked. For us, Gallipoli is an important place in Australian history," he said. For us, it's a very important place in Australian history. It helped us overcome some difficulties before the sprint. If I had to pick a winner out of the eight stages of the Tour of Turkey, it would be this one.

"I remember the name Gallipoli really well as a kid in Australia. Gallipoli has a really big place in Australian history. But even though I learned about it in school, it was hard for me to imagine its location, and I didn't even know it was in Turkey. The last time I knew Gallipoli was in Turkey was probably the last time I came here (stage 2, which Sam Bennett won in 2019). I wasn't that strong then. It wasn't a race where you could compete in a sprint. Definitely with the rider I'm turning into now, that's a finish that really suits me."

Thus, he can set his sights on the Maria Rosa, which will be awarded at the end of the first stage of the Giro d'Italia in Visegrad, Hungary, on May 6.