The Tour of Turkey, whose 47th edition begins Sunday in Istanbul, will confirm its status as the stopping ground for the sprinters before the great rendezvous of the Giro and the Tour de France.

With the exception of Britain’s Mark Cavendish, the best sprinters on the planet will be race the course of 1387 km, which will take them on eight stages. From Istanbul to the seaside resort of Alanya (southern).

Germany’s Andre Greipel (Omega Pharma), who won the prologue and four stages last year, will be at the 2011 edition, as well as Tyler Farrar (Garmin), and Australia’s Allan Davis (Astana).

For the Italian Andrea Guardini (Farnese), another king of the “finish”,the goal is clear: “I told him he would be departing in the Giro d’Italia he won two stages in Turkey, “summed up his sporting director, Luca Scinto.