Tour of Britain: Stage 4

Wout Van Aert showed his classic class on Great Orme by outsprinting Julian Alaphilippe and Michael Woods for the stage; Wout Van Aert leads overall, Jacob Scott leads KoM and Sprints classifications…

Tour of Britain: Stage 4

Wout van Aert moved back into the AJ Bell Tour of Britain race lead after out-sprinting reigning world champion Julian Alaphilippe atop the Great Orme, Llandudno, on Wednesday.

Michael Woods forcing the pace ahead of stage winner Wout van Aert on the Great Orme

The duo finished on the same time with Michael Woods (Israel Start-Up Nation) one second further back, while overnight leader Ethan Hayter (INEOS Grenadiers) slipped back to second place overall – just two seconds in arrears on van Aert – after a great fightback in the final kilometre from the Brit.

“It was a super hard finish especially the first part of the climb was really steep, probably a bit too steep for a guy like me. I knew if I could hang on there I would have my chance,” said van Aert afterwards. “It’s nice for the head to take a victory, not only because you beat a guy like Julian in a tight finish like that , but also you’re here at bike races to win , and at least I am. So it’s just really nice and I think it’s kind of a special finish here so that just makes me proud.”

Van Aert now enjoys a two second lead on Hayter with Alaphilippe and his Deceuninck – Quick-Step team-mate Mikkel Honoré at 11 and 21 seconds respectively, before a dangerous trio of riders in Woods, Rohan Dennis (INEOS Grenadiers) and Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) all within one minute.

“Our plan today was clear, we just wanted to set me up to go for the stage win and everyone was committed to that. Obviously I’m feeling good. Taking two stage wins here, like this, the Tour of Britain is already a big success but with the team we have now and how my legs feel it is still a possibility to take the overall,” continued van Aert.

“With only the stage wins there is still 40 bonus seconds coming so that’s way more than the gap I have now so I need to be ready at every moment of the race and I probably need to do a few sprints because Hayter and I guess Alaphilippe will be my main opponents in GC and are both fast guys so we will see.”

Ethan Hayter retains the Sportsbreaks.com Points jersey thanks to finishing each stage so far in the top five while Jacob Scott (Canyon dhb SunGod) extended his lead in both the ŠKODA King of the Mountains and Eisberg Sprints classifications having once again infiltrated a breakaway.

The break, containing Gruff Lewis, Jacob Scott, Nico Sessler, Bob Donaldson, Ollie Peckover and Jokin Murguialday (who later in the stage were joined by Marc Soler, Ben Healy, and Thomas Gloag) was kept on a tight leash by the likes of Deceuninck – Quick-Step and Jumbo Visma as the race made its way north alongside the Ceredigion coast as the AJ Bell Tour of Britain basked in a third straight day of sunshine and high temperatures.

Into the Snowdonia National Park and several other riders, including Movistar’s Marc Soler, bridged across but with the likes of van Aert and Alaphilippe determined to do battle on the Great Orme their days were numbered.

Matteo Jorgensen (Movistar Team) initiated the fireworks on the ascent of the Marine Drive toll road around the Great Orme’s perimeter but was caught by the Jumbo Visma led front group at two kilometres to go.

As the punishing 23% gradient alongside the Great Orme’s tramway took its toll it was Woods and Alaphilippe that went clear but first van Aert and then Hayter dragged themselves back into content as the slopes eased. Honoré then started the final sprint with van Aert jumping onto his wheel before edging out Alaphilippe as the two lunged for the line at the summit complex.

Stage Five sees the peloton heading to Cheshire for a 152.2-kilometre (94.6-mile) stages that begins from the world-leading biotech campus of Alderley Park and finishes outside the famous Golden Gates in Warrington town centre. In a stage of two halves the race visits the Cheshire Peak District with a succession of climbs between Congleton and Adlington before a flat run in to Warrington, with bonus seconds at Eisberg Sprints in Wilmslow and Chelford during the closing stages likely to be fiercely contested.

1. Wout Van Aert Jumbo-Visma 05:04:22
2. Julian Alaphilippe Deceuninck-Quick Step @ 00
3. Michael Woods Israel Start-Up Nation @ 01
4. Mikkel Honore Deceuninck-Quick Step @ 04
5. Ethan Hayter Point jersey INEOS Grenadiers @ 08
6. Daniel Martin Israel Start-Up Nation @ 13
7. Kristian Sbaragli Alpecin-Fenix @ 16
8. Simon Clarke Team Qhubeka NextHash @ 16
9. Sergio Martin Caja Rural-Seguros RGA @ 27
10. Nicolas Roche Team DSM @ 29
11. Max Stedman Canyon DHB Sungod @ 29
12. Carlos Rodriguez INEOS Grenadiers @ 29
13. Maxime Bouet Arkéa-Samsic @ 35
14. Mark Donovan Team DSM @ 37
15. Oliver Stockwell Great Britain @ 41
16. Xandro Meurisse Alpecin-Fenix @ 41
17. Joel Nicolau Caja Rural-Seguros RGA @ 41
18. Connor Swift Arkéa-Samsic @ 44
19. Gavin Mannion Rally Cycling @ 44
20. Rohan Dennis INEOS Grenadiers @ 44
21. Gonzalo Serrano Movistar Team @ 44
22. James Shaw Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling @ 47
23. Alex Peters SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling @ 49
24. Michal Paluta Global 6 Cycling @ 01:07
25. Silvan Dillier Alpecin-Fenix @ 01:11
26. Robin Carpenter Rally Cycling @ 01:13
27. Thomas Gloag Trinity Racing @ 01:14
28. Lukasz Owsian Arkéa-Samsic @ 01:16
29. George Bennett Jumbo-Visma @ 01:28
30. Josu Etxeberria Caja Rural-Seguros RGA @ 01:32
31. Steve Lampier Saint Piran @ 01:36
32. James Mitri Global 6 Cycling @ 01:41
33. Ryan Christensen Canyon DHB Sungod @ 01:46
34. Romain Combaud Team DSM @ 01:50
35. Matteo Jorgenson Movistar Team @ 01:50
36. Sean Bennett Team Qhubeka NextHash @ 01:50
37. Colin Joyce Rally Cycling @ 02:05
38. Alexandar Richardson Alpecin-Fenix @ 02:11
39. Ben Tulett Alpecin-Fenix @ 02:11
40. Pascal Eenkhoorn Jumbo-Visma @ 02:29
41. Tim Declercq Deceuninck-Quick Step @ 02:29
42. Reto Hollenstein Israel Start-Up Nation @ 02:29
43. Yves Lampaert Deceuninck-Quick Step @ 03:17
44. Rory Townsend Canyon DHB Sungod @ 03:40
45. Nicholas Dlamini Team Qhubeka NextHash @ 04:05
46. Mauro Schmid Team Qhubeka NextHash @ 04:05
47. Jimmy Janssens Alpecin-Fenix @ 04:43
48. Giacomo Nizzolo Team Qhubeka NextHash @ 04:47
49. Carlos Barbero Team Qhubeka NextHash @ 04:47
50. Thomas Mein Canyon DHB Sungod @ 04:56
51. Alex Dowsett Israel Start-Up Nation @ 04:56
52. Leon Mazzone Saint Piran @ 05:16
53. Mason Hollyman Israel Start-Up Nation @ 05:16
54. Matthew Gibson Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling @ 05:19
55. Max Walker Trinity Racing @ 05:56
56. Owain Doull INEOS Grenadiers @ 06:03
57. Michal Kwiatkowski INEOS Grenadiers @ 06:03
58. Gijs Leemreize Jumbo-Visma @ 06:03
59. Nickolas Zukowsky Rally Cycling @ 06:03
60. Dario Cataldo Movistar Team @ 06:17
61. Kyle Murphy Rally Cycling @ 06:17
62. Richie Porte INEOS Grenadiers @ 06:25
63. Daniel Bigham Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling @ 06:25
64. Tim Naberman Team DSM @ 07:52
65. Robert Donaldson Great Britain @ 08:07
66. Joey Rosskopf Rally Cycling @ 08:33
67. Nils Eekhoff Team DSM @ 08:47
68. Jacob Scott Canyon DHB Sungod @ 08:51
69. Matthew Bostock Canyon DHB Sungod @ 08:58
70. Gruff Lewis Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling @ 08:58
71. Mark Cavendish Deceuninck-Quick Step @ 08:58
72. Ollie Peckover SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling @ 08:58
73. Luke Lamperti Trinity Racing @ 08:58
74. Max Kanter Team DSM @ 09:02
75. Jokin Murguialday Elorza Caja Rural-Seguros RGA @ 09:04
76. Ben Healy Trinity Racing @ 09:24
77. André Greipel Israel Start-Up Nation @ 09:43
78. Daniel McLay Arkéa-Samsic @ 09:43
79. Christopher Blevins Trinity Racing @ 10:23
80. Rhys Britton Great Britain @ 11:16
81. Ethan Vernon Great Britain @ 11:16
82. Nicolas Sessler Global 6 Cycling @ 11:16
83. Davide Ballerini Deceuninck-Quick Step @ 11:59
84. Tony Martin Jumbo-Visma @ 13:53
85. David González Caja Rural-Seguros RGA @ 13:53
86. Jon Barrenetxea Caja Rural-Seguros RGA @ 13:53
87. Marc Soler Movistar Team @ 14:19
88. Hans Becking Global 6 Cycling @ 15:29
89. William Bjergfelt SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling @ 22:35
90. Ross Lamb SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling @ 22:35
91. Simon Wilson Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling @ 22:35
92. William Tidball Great Britain @ 23:32
93. Gabriel Cullaigh Movistar Team @ 23:32
94. Max Rushby Great Britain @ 23:32
95. Charles Page Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling @ 23:32
96. Tom Mazzone Saint Piran @ 23:32
97. Ross Holland Saint Piran @ 23:32
98. Christopher Latham SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling @ 23:32
99. Oliver Maxwell Saint Piran @ 23:42
100. Bradley Symonds Saint Piran @ 23:49
101. Andy Turner SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling @ 26:05
102. Tim Edvard Pettersen Global 6 Cycling @ 26:22

OVERALL

1 Wout Van Aert Jumbo-Visma 14:44:49
2 Ethan Hayter INEOS Grenadiers @ 02
3 Julian Alaphilippe Deceuninck-Quick Step @ 11
4 Mikkel Honore Deceuninck-Quick Step @ 21
5 Michael Woods Israel Start-Up Nation @ 40
6 Rohan Dennis INEOS Grenadiers @ 44
7 Daniel Martin Israel Start-Up Nation @ 56
8 Kristian Sbaragli Alpecin-Fenix @ 01:13
9 Mark Donovan Team DSM @ 01:34
10 Xandro Meurisse Alpecin-Fenix @ 01:38
11 Nicolas Roche Team DSM @ 01:38
12 Carlos Rodriguez INEOS Grenadiers @ 01:43
13 Gonzalo Serrano Movistar Team @ 01:48
14 James Shaw Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling @ 01:56
15 Maxime Bouet Arkéa-Samsic @ 02:03
16 Connor Swift Arkéa-Samsic @ 02:12
17 Robin Carpenter Rally Cycling @ 02:13
18 Gavin Mannion Rally Cycling @ 02:28
19 Simon Clarke Team Qhubeka NextHash @ 02:37
20 Silvan Dillier Alpecin-Fenix @ 02:46
21 Matteo Jorgenson Movistar Team @ 02:58
22 Pascal Eenkhoorn Jumbo-Visma @ 03:01
23 Thomas Gloag Trinity Racing @ 03:07
24 Lukasz Owsian Arkéa-Samsic @ 03:07
25 George Bennett Jumbo-Visma @ 03:10
26 Joel Nicolau Caja Rural-Seguros RGA @ 03:18
27 Alex Peters SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling @ 03:23
28 Colin Joyce Rally Cycling @ 03:49
29 Max Stedman Canyon DHB Sungod @ 03:53
30 Sergio Martin Caja Rural-Seguros RGA @ 04:14

POINTS
1. Ethan Hayter INEOS Grenadiers 37
2. Julian Alaphilippe Deceuninck-Quick Step 33
3. Wout Van Aert Jumbo-Visma 30
4. Mikkel Honore Deceuninck-Quick Step 24
5. Michael Woods Israel Start-Up Nation 23
6. Kristian Sbaragli Alpecin-Fenix 22
7. Rory Townsend Canyon DHB Sungod 21
8. Robin Carpenter Rally Cycling 15
9. Giacomo Nizzolo Team Qhubeka NextHash 15
10. Gonzalo Serrano Movistar Team 14
11. Nils Eekhoff Team DSM 14
12. Alex Peters SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling 13
13. Max Kanter Team DSM 12
14. Daniel Martin Israel Start-Up Nation 10
15. James Shaw Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling 9
16. Simon Clarke Team Qhubeka NextHash 8
17. Ethan Vernon Great Britain 8
18. Xandro Meurisse Alpecin-Fenix 7
19. Sergio Martin Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 7
20. Nicolas Roche Team DSM

KOM
1. Jacob Scott Canyon DHB Sungod 43
2. Nicolas Sessler Global 6 Cycling 25
3. Robin Carpenter Rally Cycling 15
4. Wout Van Aert Jumbo-Visma 10
5. Ollie Peckover SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling 10
6. Jokin Murguialday Elorza Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 10
7. Julian Alaphilippe Deceuninck-Quick Step 9
8. Robert Donaldson Great Britain 9
9. Nicholas Dlamini Team Qhubeka NextHash 8
10. Ethan Hayter INEOS Grenadiers 8
11. Michael Woods Israel Start-Up Nation 8
12. Max Walker Trinity Racing 8
13. Gruff Lewis Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling 8

SPRINTS
1. Jacob Scott Canyon DHB Sungod 17
2. Robin Carpenter Rally Cycling 9
3. Max Walker Trinity Racing 4
4. Nicolas Sessler Global 6 Cycling 4
5. Max Kanter Team DSM 3
6. Gruff Lewis Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling 3
7. Mauro Schmid Team Qhubeka NextHash 2
8. Leon Mazzone Saint Piran 2
9. Oliver Stockwell Great Britain 1
10. Robert Donaldson Great Britain 1
11. Joey Rosskopf Rally Cycling 1
12. David González Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 1