Pres Cycling Tour of Turkey 2015, exhausted cyclists were forced to remain on stage during Erdoğan's speech.

Pic 1: "Will that dude EVER shut up?" Pic 2: "Bring me his head!" #tur2015 #CavendishMyHero #turkey pic.twitter.com/CLrWDZYuBz

— Capulcu Tonella (@diehimbeertonis) May 3, 2015

Pres Cycling Tour of Turkey 2015, exhausted cyclists were forced to remain on stage during Erdoğan's speech. (TZ).

A closing ceremony that was held in İstanbul on Sunday for the 51st annual Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey 2015 witnessed scandals after the arrival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, including the fact that exhausted cyclists were forced to remain on stage during Erdoğan's speech.

The cycling tour came to an end in İstanbul on Sunday. According to a Cumhuriyet daily report, renowned British cyclist Mark Cavendish, who competed in the tournament, attempted to leave the stage while Erdoğan was giving a long speech.

The exhausted cyclists had been standing on stage for hours behind Erdoğan. Cavendish was stopped by a bodyguard of Erdoğan's who took the famous cyclist by the arm. Cavendish had to return to the stage and the incident sparked strong reaction on social media.

Pro-government media outlets called Cavendish's effort to leave the stage a great disrespect to President Erdoğan.

The host of the ceremony, Ertem Şener, claimed through his Twitter account on Sunday that the cyclists were just leaving to change their clothes and they never intended to be disrespectful to Erdoğan. When reporters asked Cavendish whether he was angry because he was forced to wait on the stage, he refused to answer the question.

It was also claimed later that the hostesses at the event who were working during the ceremony were asked to cover their exposed necks. A photo depicting the women while they were trying to cover their necks by taking their hair down was also posted on social media on Sunday.

Models told to untie hair knobs to cover their necks & chests before Pres Erdogan comes https://t.co/X7BZDpG7zC RE https://t.co/eVCoVSp2pB

— ilhan tanir (@WashingtonPoint) May 3, 2015

I think #Cavendish Should be named sportsman of the Year! @diehimbeertonis https://t.co/4iId307IeL

— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) May 3, 2015

PS:

Paper claims fighters'll flood to #Turkey to be in Erdogan's army against West from places as far as Indonesia, Malaysia, recesses of Africa

— IrmakYenisehirlioglu (@Irmak_Ye) May 3, 2015

That's some creepy end-of-the-world-shit. So probably true :D #turkey https://t.co/0kAKbICOHl

— Capulcu Tonella (@diehimbeertonis) May 3, 2015