New Zealand’s Patrick Bevin won the Tour of Turkey as the eighth and final stage was cancelled after just 25km of racing.
Heavy rain caused “extremely slippery” roads in Istanbul, prompting riders to ask for the race to be neutralised.
Judges agreed, cancelling the 141.5km stage which earned 31-year-old Bevin the first race win of his career.
He had only taken over the leader’s jersey on Saturday after winning the seventh stage.
Despite the enormity of the result, the Israel-Premier Tech rider was disappointed in the premature end to the race.
“It was a good decision as the roads were extremely slippery. However, after such a nice week of racing, it is a pity that we couldn’t race through such a beautiful city like Istanbul,” said Bevin.
“The team we had here has been fighting every day. It’s fantastic to give this back to the guys.”
Fellow New Zealander Jay Vine of Alpecin-Fenix finished second overall, 20 seconds behind, with Argentine Eduardo Sepulveda a further 20 seconds adrift in third for Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli.
