The Tour of Turkey is due to begin tomorrow ©Tour of Turkey

Only four World Tour teams are scheduled to appear at the six stage Tour of Turkey beginning tomorrow after twice being postponed earlier in the year.

The event has been included in the International Cycling Union World Tour for the first time this year, but will struggle to hold its place unless more top teams compete.

Astana Pro Team, Bora-Hansgrohe, Trek-Segafredo and UAE Team Emirates are the only teams in the World Tour tier entered,

They will be joined by a Turkish National team alongside various teams from the pro-continental ranks.

The race was initially due to take place in February before being shifted to April.

It was then pushed back again amid heightened security concerns in Turkey, where the country remains in a state of emergency with a high risk of terror attacks.

Track star Filippo Ganna is among those competing ©Getty Images
Track star Filippo Ganna is among those competing ©Getty Images

WorldTour teams LottoNL-Jumbo and Lotto Soudal each publicly stated that they would not attend due to these risks.

Portuguese defending champion José Gonçalves will not compete this time around as his new team, Katusha-Alpecin, are not entered.

Ireland's Sam Bennett and Czech Republic's Leopold König feature in a strongish Bora-Hansgrohe team, while another eye-catching entry is Italy's UAE Team Emirates youngster Filippo Ganna, the 2016 individual pursuit world champion.

The race will begin tomorrow with a 178 kilometres opening stage from Alanya to Kemer.