Tour of Britain Stage 2

Robin Carpenter stays clear to the end after being out front all stage and now leads the overall; Ethan Hayter leads the Points comp, another awesome ride by Jacob Scott to hold onto his KoM and Sprints jerseys

Tour of Britain Stage 2

Monday’s AJ Bell Tour of Britain stage in Devon was anything but a rainy day for Robin Carpenter (Rally Cycling) as the 29-year old Philadelphian rode into the race lead with an impressive solo victory in Exeter city centre as the race bathed in the south west sunshine. The stage also saw the British riders really pack the top 30

2. Ethan Hayter
3. Alex Peters
6. Rory Townsend
8. Ethan Vernon
11. James Shaw
14. Matthew Gibson
17. Robert Donaldson
19. Max Stedman
21. Connor Swift
23. Thomas Gloag
27. Mark Donovan
29. Steve Lampier

Carpenter dropped breakaway companion Jacob Scott (Canyon dhb SunGod) with 25 kilometres remaining to take the victory by 33 seconds over British duo Ethan Hayter (INEOS Grenadiers) and Alex Peters (Swift Carbon Pro Cycling). Stage One winner Wout van Aert (Team Jumbo – Visma) came home safely within the same group and now sits 22 seconds behind Carpenter, who is the first American rider to both lead the AJ Bell Tour of Britain and to win a stage of the race.

“We had 40k to go, we had crested both of the last KoMs, we still had five minutes and there was tonnes of downhill,” said Carpenter. “It seemed like a tailwind too so at that point there’s no chance to be caught. I was falling apart at the end but I made sure to be falling apart by myself. In the end, leading the overall is great and it’s a big bonus but we’ll see about making it through the team time trial tomorrow with my team-mates”.

“We were going to hit it hard anyway, We’ve got a couple of guys who are well suited to maybe go for the overall so we’ll do our best and we’ll see what happens but it’s going to be a challenge for sure.”

Carpenter was part of a five-rider move with Scott, plus Nicolas Sessler (Global 6 Cycling), Will Bjergfelt (SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling) and Leon Mazzone (Saint Piran). The latter pair were distanced on the ŠKODA King of the Mountains climb of Rundlestone above Tavistock, with Sessler the next to go before Carpenter shed Scott on one of the numerous small climbs littering the stage.

With an advantage of more than four minutes as he powered on alone to victory on Queen Street in Exeter looking assured but Jumbo – Visma took control and gradually brought Carpenter’s advantage down to under a minute. A strong lead out in the final kilometre from INEOS Grenadiers’ Michal Kwiatkowski for team-mate Hayter brought the 55-rider main group close but not enough to prevent Carpenter taking the overall lead.

Hayter did move into the Sportsbreaks.com Points jersey while Jacob Scott extended his lead in both the ŠKODA King of the Mountains and Eisberg Sprints classifications. The race moves to Wales for Stage Three (Tuesday 7 September) as the 18 teams face an 18.2 kilometre time trial between Llandeilo and the National Botanic Garden of Wales in Carmarthenshire. Van Aert has already spoken of the importance of the stage against the clock for his Jumbo Visma team who won the modern Tour of Britain’s only previous team time trial stage in 2018.

RESULT
1. Robin Carpenter Leader jersey Rally Cycling 04:45:56
2. Ethan Hayter Point jersey INEOS Grenadiers @ 33
3. Alex Peters SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling @ 33
4. Max Kanter Team DSM @ 33
5. Julian Alaphilippe Deceuninck-Quick Step @ 33
6. Rory Townsend Canyon DHB Sungod @ 33
7. Mikkel Honore Deceuninck-Quick Step @ 33
8. Ethan Vernon Great Britain @ 33
9. Kristian Sbaragli Alpecin-Fenix @ 33
10. Giacomo Nizzolo Team Qhubeka NextHash @ 33
11. James Shaw Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling @ 33
12. Colin Joyce Rally Cycling @ 33
13. Michal Paluta Global 6 Cycling @ 33
14. Matthew Gibson Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling @ 33
15. Gonzalo Serrano Movistar Team @ 33
16. Michael Woods Israel Start-Up Nation @ 33
17. Robert Donaldson Great Britain @ 33
18. Xandro Meurisse Alpecin-Fenix @ 33
19. Max Stedman Canyon DHB Sungod @ 33
20. Simon Clarke Team Qhubeka NextHash @ 33
21. Connor Swift Arkéa-Samsic @ 33
22. Wout Van Aert Jumbo-Visma @ 33
23. Thomas Gloag Trinity Racing @ 33
24. Nicolas Roche Team DSM @ 33
25. Mauro Schmid Team Qhubeka NextHash @ 33
26. Yves Lampaert Deceuninck-Quick Step @ 33
27. Mark Donovan Team DSM @ 33
28. David González Caja Rural-Seguros RGA @ 33
29. Steve Lampier Saint Piran @ 33
30. Joel Nicolau Caja Rural-Seguros RGA @ 33
31. Silvan Dillier Alpecin-Fenix @ 33
32. Matteo Jorgenson Movistar Team @ 33
33. Michal Kwiatkowski INEOS Grenadiers @ 33
34. Maxime Bouet Arkéa-Samsic @ 33
35. Lukasz Owsian Arkéa-Samsic @ 33
36. Sergio Martin Caja Rural-Seguros RGA @ 33
37. Nickolas Zukowsky Rally Cycling @ 33
38. Owain Doull INEOS Grenadiers @ 33
39. Daniel Martin Israel Start-Up Nation @ 33
40. Ryan Christensen Canyon DHB Sungod @ 33
41. Tim Declercq Deceuninck-Quick Step @ 33
42. Ben Tulett Alpecin-Fenix @ 33
43. Pascal Eenkhoorn Jumbo-Visma @ 33
44. Oliver Stockwell Great Britain @ 33
45. Gavin Mannion Rally Cycling @ 33
46. Carlos Rodriguez INEOS Grenadiers @ 33
47. George Bennett Jumbo-Visma @ 33
48. Reto Hollenstein Israel Start-Up Nation @ 33
49. Dario Cataldo Movistar Team @ 33
50. Rohan Dennis INEOS Grenadiers @ 33
51. Mason Hollyman Israel Start-Up Nation @ 33
52. Richie Porte INEOS Grenadiers @ 33
53. Carlos Barbero Team Qhubeka NextHash @ 33
54. Josu Etxeberria Caja Rural-Seguros RGA @ 33
55. Ben Healy Trinity Racing @ 33
56. Joey Rosskopf Rally Cycling @ 33
57. Alexandar Richardson Alpecin-Fenix @ 47
58. Max Walker Trinity Racing @ 55
59. Christopher Blevins Trinity Racing @ 55
60. Marc Soler Movistar Team @ 01:06
61. Kyle Murphy Rally Cycling @ 01:06
62. Alex Dowsett Israel Start-Up Nation @ 01:06
63. Davide Ballerini Deceuninck-Quick Step @ 01:22
64. James Mitri Global 6 Cycling @ 01:30
65. Jacob Scott Mountain jerseySprint jersey Canyon DHB Sungod @ 06:04
66. Nicholas Dlamini Team Qhubeka NextHash @ 09:31
67. Sean Bennett Team Qhubeka NextHash @ 09:31
68. Jimmy Janssens Alpecin-Fenix @ 09:31
69. André Greipel Israel Start-Up Nation @ 10:09
70. Jon Barrenetxea Caja Rural-Seguros RGA @ 10:09
71. Hans Becking Global 6 Cycling @ 11:52
72. Gijs Leemreize Jumbo-Visma @ 11:52
73. William Bjergfelt SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling @ 11:52
74. Nicolas Sessler Global 6 Cycling @ 11:52
75. Tony Martin Jumbo-Visma @ 11:52
76. Gabriel Cullaigh Movistar Team @ 15:14
77. Mark Cavendish Deceuninck-Quick Step @ 17:30
78. Ollie Peckover SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling @ 17:30
79. Gruff Lewis Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling @ 17:30
80. Tim Naberman Team DSM @ 17:30
81. Andy Turner SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling @ 17:30
82. Ross Lamb SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling @ 17:30
83. Simon Wilson Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling @ 17:30
84. Daniel McLay Arkéa-Samsic @ 17:30
85. Ross Holland Saint Piran @ 17:30
86. Leon Mazzone Saint Piran @ 17:30
87. Charles Page Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling @ 17:30
88. Bradley Symonds Saint Piran @ 17:30
89. Rhys Britton Great Britain @ 17:30
90. Matthew Bostock Canyon DHB Sungod @ 17:30
91. Jokin Murguialday Elorza Caja Rural-Seguros RGA @ 17:30
92. Juri Hollmann Movistar Team @ 17:30
93. Nils Eekhoff Team DSM @ 17:30
94. Luke Lamperti Trinity Racing @ 17:30
95. Romain Combaud Team DSM @ 17:30
96. Daniel Bigham Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling @ 17:30
97. Christopher Latham SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling @ 17:30
98. Thomas Mein Canyon DHB Sungod @ 17:30
99. Oliver Maxwell Saint Piran @ 17:30
100. Tim Edvard Pettersen Global 6 Cycling @ 25:30
101. William Tidball Great Britain @ 26:30
102. Max Rushby Great Britain @ 26:30
103. Tom Mazzone Saint Piran @ 26:30

OVERALL
1 Robin Carpenter Rally Cycling 09:19:33
2 Wout Van Aert Jumbo-Visma + 22
3 Ethan Hayter INEOS Grenadiers + 26
4 Gonzalo Serrano Movistar Team + 28
5 Alex Peters SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling + 28
6 Rory Townsend Canyon DHB Sungod + 32
7 Julian Alaphilippe Deceuninck-Quick Step + 32
8 Giacomo Nizzolo Team Qhubeka NextHash + 32
9 Kristian Sbaragli Alpecin-Fenix + 32
10 Mikkel Honore Deceuninck-Quick Step + 32
11 Michael Woods Israel Start-Up Nation + 32
12 James Shaw Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling + 32
13 Xandro Meurisse Alpecin-Fenix + 32
14 Robert Donaldson Great Britain + 32
15 Connor Swift Arkéa-Samsic + 32
16 Simon Clarke Team Qhubeka NextHash + 32
17 Matteo Jorgenson Movistar Team + 32
18 Mark Donovan Team DSM + 32
19 Michal Kwiatkowski INEOS Grenadiers + 32
20 Maxime Bouet Arkéa-Samsic + 32
21 Daniel Martin Israel Start-Up Nation + 32
22 Rohan Dennis INEOS Grenadiers + 32
23 Michal Paluta Global 6 Cycling + 44
24 Colin Joyce Rally Cycling + 44
25 Matthew Gibson Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling + 44
26 Nicolas Roche Team DSM + 44
27 Joel Nicolau Caja Rural-Seguros RGA + 44
28 Silvan Dillier Alpecin-Fenix + 44
29 Owain Doull INEOS Grenadiers + 44
30 Pascal Eenkhoorn Jumbo-Visma + 44

POINTS
1 Ethan Hayter INEOS Grenadiers 26
2 Rory Townsend Canyon DHB Sungod 21
3 Julian Alaphilippe Deceuninck-Quick Step 19
4 Robin Carpenter Rally Cycling 15
5 Wout Van Aert Jumbo-Visma 15
6 Giacomo Nizzolo Team Qhubeka NextHash 15
7 Gonzalo Serrano Movistar Team 14
8 Nils Eekhoff Team DSM 14
9 Alex Peters SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling 13
10 Kristian Sbaragli Alpecin-Fenix

King of the Mountains
1 Jacob Scott Canyon DHB Sungod 27
2 Robin Carpenter Rally Cycling 15
3 Nicolas Sessler Global 6 Cycling 12
4 Nicholas Dlamini Team Qhubeka NextHash 8
5 Max Walker Trinity Racing 8
6 William Bjergfelt SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling 6
7 Oliver Stockwell Great Britain 4
8 Leon Mazzone Saint Piran 4
9 Silvan Dillier Alpecin-Fenix 3
10 Richie Porte INEOS Grenadiers 2

Sprints
1 Jacob Scott Canyon DHB Sungod 12
2 Robin Carpenter Rally Cycling 9
3 Max Walker Trinity Racing 4
4 Leon Mazzone Saint Piran 2
5 Joey Rosskopf Rally Cycling 1
6 Oliver Stockwell Great Britain 1
7 Nicolas Sessler Global 6 Cycling 1