The 26-year-old Bora-Hansgrohe rider continued the good form he showed in winning the Münsterland Giro race in Germany last week as well as a stage of Paris-Nice and two stages of the Tour of Slovenia earlier this season..

It followed a solid lead-out by team-mate Shane Archbold of New Zealand.

Bennett duly burst clear in the final 200 metres of the 170km ride from Alanya before crossing first in 3 hours 57min 26sec.

Italy's Marco Benfatto of Androni-Sidermec Bottechia took second place in the same time.

Belgium's Edward Theuns, riding for Trek-Segafredo, was third in the same sprint.

Bennett now holds the overall lead going into tomorrow's second stage from Kumlica to Fethiye.

The Tour of Turkey 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.

Only four World Tour teams - Astana Pro Team, Bora-Hansgrohe, Trek-Segafredo and UAE Team Emirates - are present.

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.