Tour of Turkey: Britain's Adam Yates second on stage three

Britain's Adam Yates finished second behind Rein Taaramae on stage three's uphill finish at the Tour of Turkey.

The duo broke away in the closing four kilometres of the 12km ascent to Elmali but Estonian champion Taaramae had the stronger legs in the closing metres.

"It is incredible," said Taaramae, who is racing seven weeks after having surgery to remove skin from his larynx that was affecting his breathing.

"Last year it was hard to ride with sprinters in the mountains."

The Cofidis rider put in a strong burst on the 16% steepest section of the final climb to take the overall race lead from Mark Cavendish, who won the first two stages, but finished more than 25 minutes back on terrain less suited to the sprint specialist.

Yates, who rides for Australian team Orica GreenEdge, tried to stay with Taaramae but finally accepted defeat in the closing 100m and crossed the line six seconds adrift to move into second overall.

His brother and team-mate Simon, who won World Championship gold on the track in 2013, suffered a broken collarbone in a crash during Tuesday's stage.

Stage three result:

1. Rein Taaramae (Est/Cofidis) 5hrs 40 mins 31 seconds

2. Adam Yates (GB/Orica GreenEdge) +6"

3. Romain Hardy (Fra/Cofidis) +38"

4. Merhawi Kudus (Eri/MTN)

5. Davide Rebellin (Ita/CCC)

6. Luis-Leon Sanchez (Spa/ CJR)

Overall classification:

1. Rein Taaramae (Est/Cofidis) 12hrs 46 mins 31 seconds

2. Adam Yates (GB/Orica GreenEdge) +6"

3. Romain Hardy (Fra/Cofidis) +38"

4. Luis-Leon Sanchez (Spa/ CJR)

5. Merhawi Kudus (Eri/MTN)

6. Davide Rebellin (Ita/CCC)