Tour of Britain: Stage 5

British rider Ethan Hayter sprinted to win stage five of the 2021 AJ Bell Tour of Britain outside Warrington’s historic Golden Gates to retake the overall race lead on Thursday. Jacob Scott continues to lead the KoM & Sprints classifications after another superb day out front

Tour of Britain: Stage 5

British rider Ethan Hayter sprinted to win stage five of the 2021 AJ Bell Tour of Britain outside Warrington’s historic Golden Gates to retake the overall race lead on Thursday. Jacob Scott of Canyon DHB Sungod continues to lead the KoM & Sprints classifications after another superb day out front

Hayter sprinted home ahead of European Champion Giacomo Nizzolo (Team Qhubeka NextHash) and Dan McLay (Team Arkéa Samsic) despite losing lead out man Owain Doull to a final corner crash on greasy roads following an earlier heavy rain shower. Victory in Warrington gives Hayter an eight-second advantage over Wout van Aert (Team Jumbo Visma) with three stages remaining, and almost 20 seconds back to World champion Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck – Quick-Step).

“The hard work was done before the last kilometre to be honest,” said Ethan Hayter speaking afterwards. “The team were amazing and from about 20 kilometres to go we were there or thereabouts and out of trouble. The last 10 kilometres got twisty with a tailwind. We were in the perfect place really. In the last corner, with 700 metres to go, a couple guys came up on the inside and I knew I just had to get round it safely really. I didn’t want to be right at the front, either, because it was still quite a long way to go. I saw [Owain] Doull slowly drifting and I was like ‘this isn’t good’ and then he crashed.

“His bike started drifting as well and you are meant to look where you are going – when you look at something you end up riding into it. I just squeezed between the bike and the barrier and you get a rush of adrenaline. Then I just screamed on the radio for [Michal] Kwiato to go flat out. I didn’t actually get a great run at the finish, I couldn’t quite believe the situation but when I did, I put it in my biggest gear, went as hard as I could and it was enough.

“I woke up this morning and it was actually the best I had felt all race so it clearly worked out in the end. I had a cold last week so I came into it not feeling amazing and obviously everyone knows Wout van Aert won on the Champs-Elysees so he is one of the fastest guys. Then there’s Cav, Nizzolo and all these people. I took six bonus seconds the other day by winning the sprint there and obviously it was a completely different stage, so I knew there was a chance.”

“I think the time bonuses can still come into play and there’s a lot of hard racing still to go. It might not come down to time bonuses in the end; there could be big gaps tomorrow and a couple of the days after that, so it’s going to be interesting. We will just do what we can.”

Stage Five rolled out from the world-leading biotechnology campus of Alderley Park in Cheshire with a five-rider break soon forming containing Jacob Scott (Canyon dhb SunGod) as he once again dominated the points scoring in the ŠKODA King of the Mountains and Eisberg Sprints competitions which he continues to lead. The final four members of the break – Leon Mazzone (Saint Piran, second breakaway for him) Dan Bigham (Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling), Christopher Blevins (TRINITY Racing), and Nickolas Zukowsky (Rally Cycling) – lasted well into Warrington and they were only caught with 1.8 kilometres of racing remaining.

INEOS then took control and despite Doull sliding out on the final turn they managed to keep control through Kwiatowski to set up Hayter for his first AJ Bell Tour of Britain stage win and to extend his impressive run that has seen him finish in the top 10 on eight of his previous road stages in the Tour.

Tomorrow: The sixth stage of the AJ Bell Tour of Britain crosses the Pennines from Carlisle to Gateshead over 198 kilometres (123.1 miles), with the finish alongside Sir Antony Gormley’s world-famous Angel of the North. With three first category ŠKODA King of the Mountains climbs – at Hartside, Killhope Cross and Burtree Fell – during the route through Cumbria, County Durham and Northumberland it could be another day where the overall lead changes hands.

STAGE 5 RESULT

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

OVERALL

1. Ethan Hayter INEOS Grenadiers 18:17:42
2. Wout Van Aert Jumbo-Visma @ 08
3. Julian Alaphilippe Deceuninck-Quick Step @ 19
4. Mikkel Honore Deceuninck-Quick Step @ 29
5. Michael Woods Israel Start-Up Nation @ 48
6. Rohan Dennis INEOS Grenadiers @ 52
7. Daniel Martin Israel Start-Up Nation @ 01:04
8. Kristian Sbaragli Alpecin-Fenix @ 01:21
9. Mark Donovan Team DSM @ 01:42
10. Xandro Meurisse Alpecin-Fenix @ 01:46
11. Nicolas Roche Team DSM @ 01:46
12. Carlos Rodriguez INEOS Grenadiers @ 01:51
13. Gonzalo Serrano Movistar Team @ 01:56
14. James Shaw Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling @ 02:04
15. Maxime Bouet Arkéa-Samsic @ 02:11
16. Connor Swift Arkéa-Samsic @ 02:20
17. Robin Carpenter Rally Cycling @ 02:21
18. Gavin Mannion Rally Cycling @ 02:36
19. Simon Clarke Team Qhubeka NextHash @ 02:45
20. Silvan Dillier Alpecin-Fenix @ 02:54
21. Matteo Jorgenson Movistar Team @ 03:06
22. Pascal Eenkhoorn Jumbo-Visma @ 03:09
23. Lukasz Owsian Arkéa-Samsic @ 03:15
24. Thomas Gloag Trinity Racing @ 03:15
25. George Bennett Jumbo-Visma @ 03:18
26. Joel Nicolau Caja Rural-Seguros RGA @ 03:26
27. Alex Peters SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling @ 03:31
28. Colin Joyce Rally Cycling @ 03:57
29. Max Stedman Canyon DHB Sungod @ 04:01
30. Sergio Martin Caja Rural-Seguros RGA

POINTS

1. Ethan Hayter INEOS Grenadiers 52
2. Julian Alaphilippe Deceuninck-Quick Step 41
3. Wout Van Aert Jumbo-Visma 30
4. Giacomo Nizzolo Team Qhubeka NextHash 29
5. Kristian Sbaragli Alpecin-Fenix 28
6. Mikkel Honore Deceuninck-Quick Step 24
7. Michael Woods Israel Start-Up Nation 23
8. Gonzalo Serrano Movistar Team 21
9. Rory Townsend Canyon DHB Sungod 21
10. Robin Carpenter Rally Cycling 15

KING OF THE MOUNTAINS

1. Jacob Scott Canyon DHB Sungod 57
2. Nicolas Sessler Global 6 Cycling 25
3. Robin Carpenter Rally Cycling 16
4. Nickolas Zukowsky Rally Cycling 12
5. Wout Van Aert Jumbo-Visma 10
6. Ollie Peckover SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling 10
7. Jokin Murguialday Elorza Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 10
8. Julian Alaphilippe Deceuninck-Quick Step 9
9. Robert Donaldson Great Britain 9
10. Nicholas Dlamini Team Qhubeka NextHash 8
11. Ethan Hayter INEOS Grenadiers 8
12. Michael Woods Israel Start-Up Nation 8
13. Max Walker Trinity Racing 8
14. Christopher Blevins Trinity Racing 8
15. Gruff Lewis Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling 8

SPRINTS
1. Jacob Scott Canyon DHB Sungod 26
2. Robin Carpenter Rally Cycling 9
3. Leon Mazzone Saint Piran 6
4. Max Walker Trinity Racing 4
5. Nicolas Sessler Global 6 Cycling 4
6. Max Kanter Team DSM 3
7. Gruff Lewis Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling 3
8. Daniel Bigham Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling 3
9. Mauro Schmid Team Qhubeka NextHash 2
10. Nickolas Zukowsky Rally Cycling 2
11. Oliver Stockwell Great Britain 1
12. Robert Donaldson Great Britain 1
13. Joey Rosskopf Rally Cycling 1
14. David González Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 1