Tour of Britain: Stage 6

Wout Van Aert is the angel of the north as he wins a battle of the stars on stage 6 of the Tour of Britain; Ethan Hayter second and still race leader, James Shaw 5th on stage in leading group, Jacob Scott leads KoM and Sprints classifications

Tour of Britain: Stage 6

A day after losing the AJ Bell Tour of Britain race lead, Belgian star Wout van Aert struck back by winning stage six in the shadow of the Angel of the North sculpture in Gateshead.

Photo: Dean Reeve

The Belgian national champion sprinted home ahead of Ethan Hayter and Julian Alaphilippe as a 10-rider group contested the finish after a thrilling finale on the roads into Gateshead that saw multiple riders trying to go clear for the stage victory. Hayter retains his race lead, although now trimmed to just four seconds over van Aert [Team Jumbo Visma] thanks to the time bonus at the finish line, with Alaphilippe slipping back slightly to plus 21 seconds.

“It’s great to keep the jersey,” said Ethan Hayter. “The gap is now four seconds so if he [van Aert] wins the race on time bonuses there’s not much we can do about it. I’m happy to be leading the Tour of Britain still, it’s amazing. It all kicked off with about 15 kilometres to go on that climb and actually I wasn’t playing it cool. I was on the limit, but Carlos [Rodriguez] kind of saved me because otherwise I would’ve been open to a lot more attacks. He was closing stuff and setting a good tempo, and, in the end, it put everyone off attacking, especially in the last couple of kilometres. To keep the jersey and be second on the stage is a very good result for me and I’m looking forward to the next two days.”

The day’s break, which started out as a nine man group, split and two British riders were left struggling to close the gap, Mark Donovan and Mason Hollyman. They failed to get back to the front and were swallowed up by the peloton. That left seven riders out front; Rory Townsend protecting Jacob Scott’s King of the Mountains lead and Sprints lead as well, George Bennett, Mark Cavendish, Tim DeClerq, Dan McLay, Colin Joyce (Cicle Classic winner) and Jimmy Janssens.

Once they were caught late in the race, James Shaw (Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling) attacked, with first Matteo Jorgensen (Movistar) and then eight others following, including all of the overall contenders. Michael Woods (Israel Start-Up Nation) put in a concerted effort on one of the many small climbs littering the final ten kilometres, building a 15 second advantage which was steadily eroded before Shaw and Mikkel Honoré (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) each made their own efforts to go clear.

With a second group of just over 20 riders closing on them rapidly, Jorgensen kept the pace high, aided by Carlos Rodriguez before Honoré opened up the sprint to lead out Alaphilippe. On the gradual drag up to the line however the fast finishers of van Aert and Hayter came around the World champion under the watchful guise of the Angel of the North.

Jacob Scott of Canyon DHB Sungod has won the KoM jersey and just needs to clinch the Sprints jersey…

Speaking after the race, Wout van Aert said; “It was a nice course with a nice opportunity in the end – a steep kicker with 14 kilometres to go. I thought it would be nice to make the race a bit harder and maybe even surprise some other guys, but we ended up with all the main favourites in the front group. From then on it was quite clear for me that it would be a sprint because Ethan [Hayter] and the also the guy from Movistar [Matteo Jorgenson] had a team-mate in the group who would keep it together.”

“I’m focusing on this race and the opportunities we will have here, so I think for sure it has been good preparation for the Worlds. But for now I’m more focused on the racing day by day. It will all come down to the bonus seconds. Maybe there will be some other opportunities along the way, so we need to be focused and hopefully we can try something again.”

Hayter retains the Sportsbreaks.com Points jersey thanks to his string of top five results this week while Jacob Scott (Canyon dhb SunGod) keeps both of the King of the Mountains and Sprints jerseys for a sixth consecutive day, and now only needs to finish the AJ Bell Tour of Britain to retain his KoM jersey.

The event moves to Scotland for the final two stages of the 2021 race. Saturday (11 September) sees a 194.8-kilometre (121.1-mile) Stage Seven from Hawick to Edinburgh with a picturesque route through the Scottish Borders before the AJ Bell Tour of Britain concludes with Stage Eight from Stonehaven to Aberdeen over 173 kilometres (107.6 miles) including the famous climb of Cairn o’Mount.

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

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

POINTS
1. Ethan Hayter INEOS Grenadiers 66
2. Julian Alaphilippe Deceuninck-Quick Step 54
3. Wout Van Aert Jumbo-Visma 45
4. Michael Woods Israel Start-Up Nation 33
5. Gonzalo Serrano Movistar Team 33
6. Mikkel Honore Deceuninck-Quick Step 32
7. Kristian Sbaragli Alpecin-Fenix 28
8. Rory Townsend Canyon DHB Sungod 21
9. James Shaw Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling 20
10. Daniel Martin Israel Start-Up Nation 19

KING OF THE MOUNTAINS
1. Jacob Scott Canyon DHB Sungod 66
2. Rory Townsend Canyon DHB Sungod 30
3. Nicolas Sessler Global 6 Cycling 28
4. George Bennett Jumbo-Visma 24
5. Tim Declercq Deceuninck-Quick Step 22
6. Colin Joyce Rally Cycling 19
7. Jimmy Janssens Alpecin-Fenix 19
8. Daniel McLay Arkéa-Samsic 18
9. Robin Carpenter Rally Cycling 16
10. Mark Cavendish Deceuninck-Quick Step 15

SPRINTS
1. Jacob Scott Canyon DHB Sungod 26
2. Robin Carpenter Rally Cycling 9
3. Rory Townsend Canyon DHB Sungod 9
4. Leon Mazzone Saint Piran 6
5. George Bennett Jumbo-Visma 4
6. Max Walker Trinity Racing 4
7. Nicolas Sessler Global 6 Cycling 4
8. Max Kanter Team DSM 3
9. Gruff Lewis Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling 3
10. Colin Joyce Rally Cycling