PRESS RELEASE SUNDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 2024
WILLIAMS SEALS LLOYDS BANK TOUR OF BRITAIN MEN VICTORY AS GOVEKAR WINS IN FELIXSTOWE
Stevie Williams made history as he became the first Welshman to win the modern Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men, and the first Brit to win the national tour since 2016.
Williams (Israel – Premier Tech) completed a clean sweep of British riders on the podium, heading home Oscar Onley (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) by 16 seconds, with Tom Donnenwirth (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Development Team), a further 36 seconds in arrears.
Matevž Govekar (Bahrain Victorious) won the final 158.4km stage through East Suffolk, as the sixth stage ended in a bunch sprint on Sea Road in Felixstowe.
An early breakaway group of four featuring Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility), Cole Kessler (Lidl – Trek Future Racing), Mathias Bregnhøj (Sabgal/Anicolor) and Ben Swift (INEOS Grenadiers) gained 30 seconds over the peloton. Samuel Leroux (Van Rysel – Roubaix) and Antoine L’Hote (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Development Team) managed to bridge across and extend the gap to 34 seconds, with Abrahamsen securing the first intermediate sprint win of the day in Beccles, before they were caught with 129km to go.
After a brief moment of calm, Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers) attacked hard to make a front group of eight, before Jacob Scott (Rembe Pro Cycling Team Sauerland) and Mathias Bregnhoj (Sabgal/Anicolor) went clear. Pidcock attacked again, with Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) in tow as the two bridged over with 110km to go, forcing a gap of 2:10.
The peloton, led by Soudal Quick-Step and Israel – Premier Tech upped the pace in an attempt to reel them back, splintering the peloton into two, and making the catch with 88km to go.
A strong crosswind blew the peloton apart, which threatened to disrupt the standings significantly in the final stage, while a group of 25 including Callum Thornley (TRINITY Racing), Oscar Onley (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL), Williams and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) went off the front.
The second intermediate sprint with 68km to go saw Tom Donnenwirth (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Development Team) take the full points and bonus seconds, moving him up into third on the general classification, above Mark Donovan (Q36.5 Pro Cycling).
The second group took turns on the front to close the gap, before a crash saw Pidcock and treble stage winner Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) abandon the race to make it all to play for coming into the final 35km.
As the peloton came back together, Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team hit the front coming into the final intermediate sprint in Grundisburgh, with Jelte Krijnsen taking the points ahead of Donnenwirth.
Connor Swift (INEOS Grenadiers) attacked solo, with Evenepoel, Thornley and Abrahamsen bridging over, before it came back together and another flurry of attacks put pressure on the reduced peloton. A last gasp effort from Onley – who was 16 seconds off Williams in the general classification – saw Israel – Premier Tech chase furiously and make the catch with less than 20km to go.
A frantic finish saw leadout trains all over the road as the riders entered Felixstowe, with Israel – Premier Tech heading the peloton, with the aim of setting up Ethan Vernon for the finish.
But it was Govekar who timed his sprint to perfection out of the final corner on to the long seaside finish straight, to take the stage victory ahead of Rasmus Pedersen (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Development Team) in second. Ben Swift (INEOS Grenadiers) was just behind in third, also taking the Combativity award of the day while Vernon finished in fourth to take the points jersey and help his Israel – Premier Tech to the team classification.
Speaking after the podium, Williams said:
“It’s been a good week and we managed to take everything out of a stage race – a couple of stages and the GC so I’m really happy and proud to have this race. I’m proud of how the boys rode all week, they were fantastic. It’s me standing on the podium and winning it but it was definitely a team effort.
“After the Olympics, it was definitely a target of mine to get back into racing and I knew I was coming here in decent form. Luckily I had the legs to show it and pull it off but at the end of the day everything has to go right and everything did go right so I’m really happy.”
Stage winner Govekar, who had finished in the top 10 of three stages previously, said:
“It’s been a pretty aggressive week of racing. We came close in a few stages already, it’s been a super nice week of racing. I think the stage win shows the picture of a week of racing with the boys and I’m super happy with how they set up the final. I came from the back, with the tailwind I knew that I needed to start the sprint more to the front as they had already started to get into position quite early. I didn’t see how close it was but I did a strong sprint and I’m happy I managed to finish first.”
Points champion, Vernon added:
“It wasn’t the way I wanted to do it, obviously Magnier crashed out and the sprint didn’t go to plan at the end but I’m happy with Stevie’s result. It’s been a great week for Stevie, we got stuck in to helping him today and put everything into that and managed to bring it home. For me it’s been a week of highs and lows, I’ve got some good stuff to take away and learn from, some negatives but I set myself up for a good sprint today, I just didn’t have the legs in the end.”
Thornley held onto the King of the Mountains jersey after a fantastic start to the tour that saw him take the blue jersey on day one in his native Scottish Borders. Fellow Borderer Onley’s second place on the general classification saw him take the best young rider’s jersey. Teammate Sean Flynn finished 10th overall to end a highly successful week for Scottish riders in the tour, with Onley and Thornley the first Scots to finish on the overall podium and win a jersey in their home tour, since Pippa York in 1990.
PRESS RELEASE SATURDAY 7 SEPTEMBER 2024
MAGNIER SEALS HATTRICK WITH VICTORY ON STAGE 5 OF LLOYDS BANK TOUR OF BRITAIN MEN
Paul Magnier once again proved a class above the rest as he cruised to a third stage win at the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men after a 149.6km stage around West Northamptonshire.
The young French talent Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) took victory ahead of Erlend Blikra (Uno-X Mobility) and Ethan Vernon (Israel – Premier Tech) in a stage that both started and finished in Northampton.
As the flag dropped on the University of Northampton’s Waterside Campus, a batch of riders accelerated with TRINITY Racing leading the charge, before Connor Swift (INEOS Grenadiers) went solo. Danish champion Rasmus Søjberg Pedersen (Uno-X Mobility) and Matt Holmes (Great Britain Cycling Team) bridged over with the trio racking up a 30 second lead.
Race leader Stevie Williams (Israel – Premier Tech), along with Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step) attempted to make a move of their own as the race neared the first categorised climb of the day at Newnham Hill, but they were quickly reeled in before Alaphilippe launched another attack in an attempt to chase down the leading trio.
Holmes was the first to reach the crest of Newnham Hill, followed by Swift in second, Pedersen in third and Paul Wright (REMBE Pro Cycling Team Sauerland) taking the final available point. The breakaway trio maintained the same order over the second and final categorised climb of the day, and the 2024 race, at Bullshill, with Alaphilippe taking fourth place on this occasion before he was again caught by the peloton.
Josh Golliker (Groupama-FDJ Continental) saw an opportunity to try and join the breakaway and struck out alone, but found himself in no man’s land as he gained a minute on the peloton. With 105km to go, Golliker sat up as the lead trio saw their advantage stretch to 2:40 over the main group, with Soudal Quick-Step and Israel – Premier Tech controlling the chase.
With the gap hovering around the two minute mark, the breakaway reached the intermediate sprint at Holcot, with Holmes first across the line ahead of Swift and Pedersen.
With just under 15km to go, panic began to set in amongst the peloton as the breakaway remained a minute up the road, working well together to try and keep their hopes of victory alive. Soudal Quick-Step began to pull out all the stops, sending double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel to the front, who cut the deficit to just under 30 seconds with seven kilometres remaining.
Hopes for a breakaway victor were in the balance with three kilometres to go as the gap began to close rapidly, with just 18 seconds separating the groups. Bahrain-Victorious and Uno-X Mobility also began to help the peloton, closing the gap to eight seconds with two kilometres to go.
A crash saw most of the Soudal Quick-Step riders caught out, but Alaphilippe was still able to guide Magnier towards the front of the race, with the breakaway’s brave effort finally caught at the flamme rouge entering the final kilometre.
Jake Stewart (Israel – Premier Tech) began the lead out on the gently rising Derngate in Northampton town centre to launch teammate Vernon, but Magnier looked unbeatable as he powered to the front, gaining two bike lengths over his rivals to secure the victory, celebrating his second consecutive victory and third stage win of the 2024 race.
Behind Blikra went one better than his third in Newark-on-Trent, while Vernon’s third is his seventh top three placing in his home tour from the past 11 stages, though the 24-year-old from Bedford is yet to crack the top spot.
The general classification podium places remain unchanged, Stevie Williams (Israel – Premier Tech) retains his 16 second advantage over best young rider leader Oscar Onley (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) going into the final stage.
Magnier strengthened his hold on the red points classification jersey with victory today, while Callum Thornley (TRINITY Racing) kept hold of his blue king of the mountains classification jersey once more, now with every categorised climb completed. Connor Swift earned the day’s combativity award for his efforts in the breakaway.
After the win, Magnier said:
“I enjoyed it a lot, especially with a really big team performance again. It was really hard to catch the break in the final. Remco [Evenepoel] did everything, he did his best. He is a super fast rider and he brought back the really strong breakaway, and then Julian [Alaphilippe] brought me to the front and I saved a lot of energy there. I did my best sprint and the victory was super nice. Tomorrow we’ll try again to get the victory.”
Should Magnier take victory tomorrow he will equal the record for stage wins in a single edition of the modern Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men, held jointly by Olav Kooij (2023) and Edvald Boasson Hagen (2009), though both of those riders took theirs in successive stages.
East Suffolk hosts the final stage of the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men on Sunday 8 September with a 158.4-kilometre stage from Lowestoft to Felixstowe. The start begins from Marine Parade in Lowestoft at 11am, finishing on Sea Road in Felixstowe.
PRESS RELEASE THURSDAY 5 SEPTEMBER 2024
STEVIE SOARS TO SECOND VICTORY ON STAGE THREE OF LLOYDS BANK TOUR OF BRITAIN MEN
Stevie Williams rode to a back-to-back victory in South Yorkshire for the second day running at the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men to extend his lead at the top of the general classification.
The Welsh rider fired to the line in Barnsley for Israel-Premier Tech, holding off first stage winner Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) in damp conditions to extend his overall lead to 16 seconds, with British riders filling the top four spots in the general classification.
The riders tackled 2,282m of climbing over the 166km, taking in all four boroughs of South Yorkshire, starting on Arundel Gate in Sheffield city centre, and passing through Rotherham and Doncaster, before an uphill finish on County Way in Barnsley.
Yorkshire native Ben Swift (INEOS Grenadiers) launched the first big move of the day, and was quickly joined by Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step) and Jake Stewart (Israel – Premier Tech). The trio quickly established a gap to the peloton on the twisty lanes skirting the Peak District outside Sheffield.
Jelte Krijnsen (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) bridged across to make the group swell to a quartet as they reached the first King of the Mountains climb on Long Lane, with the group’s advantage dangling around 30 seconds in front of the peloton as Alaphilippe took the points. The ferocious pace set by Israel – Premier Tech saw the peloton reduce significantly, with riders dropped on the hills of South Yorkshire.
With just under 120km to go, the leaders widened the advantage to the peloton by just over a minute but the bunch were working hard to close the gap. Allaphilippe took the second King of the Mountain points of the day up Jawbone Hill ahead of Stewart.
Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) stormed to the front of the race, closing the gap to just 11 seconds as Krijnsen won the intermediate sprint in Tickhill ahead of Swift and Stewart. The peloton reeled the break in as the four riders sat back.
Soudal Quick-Step continued to work on the front, making the peloton splinter, putting race leader Stevie Williams (Israel – Premier Tech) under pressure with 83km to go.
With 65km remaining, a promising 10-man break formed, including British champion Ethan Hayter (INEOS Grenadiers) and Magnier, but they were quickly foiled.
Tobias Foss (INEOS Grenadiers) quickly counter-attacked up a climb, taking Gil Gelders (Soudal Quick-Step) with him. Louis Sutton (Great Britain Cycling Team), points leader Julius Johansen (Sabgal/Anicolour), Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility), Nickolas Zukowsky (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team), Noa Isidore (Decathalon AG2R La Mondiale Development Team) and Oscar Nilsson-Julien (Van Rysel-Roubaix) bridged over to form a strong front group.
Sporting a ripped jersey after an earlier crash, young rider Sutton continued to show his gutsy talent, and as the leading group racked up a 50 second lead, it provisionally put the British rider into the leader’s jersey. Sensing the threat, Israel – Premier Tech got to the front of the chasing peloton and put the hammer down with 50km to go.
The head of the race continued to work well together with a fast pace, dropping Nilsson-Julien in the process. Ethan Vernon (Israel – Premier Tech) took to the front of the peloton in a bid to close the one-minute gap, while Foss continued to power in the leading bunch.
Inside the final 25km, the bunch maintained a minute gap with Bahrain Victorious controlling the pace from the peloton. A huge effort from Israel – PremierTech saw them quickly reduce the advantage to 34 seconds as the rain continued to fall, seeing Evenepoel distanced from the main group.
Attacks from the front came thick and fast, with Johansen, Foss, Isidore, Gelders and Abrahamsen establishing a lead with 15km remaining. As the rest of the breakaway group were caught by the peloton, the five-man lead had a gap of just 13 seconds.
The leaders were caught inside the final 6km, with Gelders putting in a few more counter-attacks that came to nothing. Coming up the final climb, the peloton was reduced to 20 riders as they pushed on the pace.
Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers) put in a huge attack with less than 5km to go, taking the King of the Mountain points up Hound Hill, with Oscar Onley (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) straight onto his wheel, but as the pair descended, they were reeled back into the peloton.
With 700m remaining, the road kicked up and it was all to play for. Pidcock attacked and looked in good form, but Williams was unstoppable, taking his second victory of the week. Magnier finished second in a tense sprint to the line against Edoardo Zambanini (Bahrain Victorious).
Williams’ sprinting win for a second day in a row also sees him lead in the points classification as the Welsh rider currently sits 16 seconds ahead of youngster Onley on the general classification. Onley leads the best young rider classification, while fellow Scot Callum Thornley (TRINITY Racing) will continue to wear the King of the Mountain jersey. After his attacking antics in the break today and battling back from the crash, Sutton was given the Combativity award.
Speaking after the stage, Williams said: “It was a really hard day, really demanding. It was a real privilege to be a part of, the team were unbelievable, exceptional. The way they rode that and controlled it was amazing. I’m really proud to bring it across the line. I did the last kilometre, but they did the four hours before it.
“I think everyone had to attack us and in the end a group did get away, but they didn’t get much of a gap and the race opened up again. It was a bit of a mess, it turned into a bit of a casino after a few of hours. We got it back under control and the boys did an exceptional job all day.”
Stage four on Friday 6 September sees the East Midlands stage of the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men, starting from outside of Derby Arena at 11am, and finishing alongside Sconce & Devon Park in Newark-on-Trent after 138.5 kilometres of racing.
PRESS RELEASE THURSDAY 5 SEPTEMBER 2024 Images SWpix.com
STEVIE SOARS TO SECOND VICTORY ON STAGE THREE OF LLOYDS BANK TOUR OF BRITAIN MEN
Stevie Williams rode to a back-to-back victory in South Yorkshire for the second day running at the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men to extend his lead at the top of the general classification.
The Welsh rider fired to the line in Barnsley for Israel-Premier Tech, holding off first stage winner Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) in damp conditions to extend his overall lead to 16 seconds, with British riders filling the top four spots in the general classification.
The riders tackled 2,282m of climbing over the 166km, taking in all four boroughs of South Yorkshire, starting on Arundel Gate in Sheffield city centre, and passing through Rotherham and Doncaster, before an uphill finish on County Way in Barnsley.
Yorkshire native Ben Swift (INEOS Grenadiers) launched the first big move of the day, and was quickly joined by Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step) and Jake Stewart (Israel – Premier Tech). The trio quickly established a gap to the peloton on the twisty lanes skirting the Peak District outside Sheffield.
Jelte Krijnsen (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) bridged across to make the group swell to a quartet as they reached the first King of the Mountains climb on Long Lane, with the group’s advantage dangling around 30 seconds in front of the peloton as Alaphilippe took the points. The ferocious pace set by Israel – Premier Tech saw the peloton reduce significantly, with riders dropped on the hills of South Yorkshire.
With just under 120km to go, the leaders widened the advantage to the peloton by just over a minute but the bunch were working hard to close the gap. Allaphilippe took the second King of the Mountain points of the day up Jawbone Hill ahead of Stewart.
Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) stormed to the front of the race, closing the gap to just 11 seconds as Krijnsen won the intermediate sprint in Tickhill ahead of Swift and Stewart. The peloton reeled the break in as the four riders sat back.
Soudal Quick-Step continued to work on the front, making the peloton splinter, putting race leader Stevie Williams (Israel – Premier Tech) under pressure with 83km to go.
With 65km remaining, a promising 10-man break formed, including British champion Ethan Hayter (INEOS Grenadiers) and Magnier, but they were quickly foiled.
Tobias Foss (INEOS Grenadiers) quickly counter-attacked up a climb, taking Gil Gelders (Soudal Quick-Step) with him. Louis Sutton (Great Britain Cycling Team), points leader Julius Johansen (Sabgal/Anicolour), Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility), Nickolas Zukowsky (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team), Noa Isidore (Decathalon AG2R La Mondiale Development Team) and Oscar Nilsson-Julien (Van Rysel-Roubaix) bridged over to form a strong front group.
Sporting a ripped jersey after an earlier crash, young rider Sutton continued to show his gutsy talent, and as the leading group racked up a 50 second lead, it provisionally put the British rider into the leader’s jersey. Sensing the threat, Israel – Premier Tech got to the front of the chasing peloton and put the hammer down with 50km to go.
The head of the race continued to work well together with a fast pace, dropping Nilsson-Julien in the process. Ethan Vernon (Israel – Premier Tech) took to the front of the peloton in a bid to close the one-minute gap, while Foss continued to power in the leading bunch.
Inside the final 25km, the bunch maintained a minute gap with Bahrain Victorious controlling the pace from the peloton. A huge effort from Israel – PremierTech saw them quickly reduce the advantage to 34 seconds as the rain continued to fall, seeing Evenepoel distanced from the main group.
Attacks from the front came thick and fast, with Johansen, Foss, Isidore, Gelders and Abrahamsen establishing a lead with 15km remaining. As the rest of the breakaway group were caught by the peloton, the five-man lead had a gap of just 13 seconds.
The leaders were caught inside the final 6km, with Gelders putting in a few more counter-attacks that came to nothing. Coming up the final climb, the peloton was reduced to 20 riders as they pushed on the pace.
Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers) put in a huge attack with less than 5km to go, taking the King of the Mountain points up Hound Hill, with Oscar Onley (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) straight onto his wheel, but as the pair descended, they were reeled back into the peloton.
With 700m remaining, the road kicked up and it was all to play for. Pidcock attacked and looked in good form, but Williams was unstoppable, taking his second victory of the week. Magnier finished second in a tense sprint to the line against Edoardo Zambanini (Bahrain Victorious).
Williams’ sprinting win for a second day in a row also sees him lead in the points classification as the Welsh rider currently sits 16 seconds ahead of youngster Onley on the general classification. Onley leads the best young rider classification, while fellow Scot Callum Thornley (TRINITY Racing) will continue to wear the King of the Mountain jersey. After his attacking antics in the break today and battling back from the crash, Sutton was given the Combativity award.
Speaking after the stage, Williams said: “It was a really hard day, really demanding. It was a real privilege to be a part of, the team were unbelievable, exceptional. The way they rode that and controlled it was amazing. I’m really proud to bring it across the line. I did the last kilometre, but they did the four hours before it.
“I think everyone had to attack us and in the end a group did get away, but they didn’t get much of a gap and the race opened up again. It was a bit of a mess, it turned into a bit of a casino after a few of hours. We got it back under control and the boys did an exceptional job all day.”
Stage four on Friday 6 September sees the East Midlands stage of the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men, starting from outside of Derby Arena at 11am, and finishing alongside Sconce & Devon Park in Newark-on-Trent after 138.5 kilometres of racing.
PRESS RELEASE WEDNESDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2024 - Images Chris Maher
WILLIAMS POWERS TO STAGE TWO LLOYDS BANK TOUR OF BRITAIN MEN VICTORY IN REDCAR
Stevie Williams powered to the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men second stage victory from a three-up sprint after an attritional day of racing from Darlington to Redcar.
The second stage of the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men saw riders tackle 152.1km with 2,216m of climbing in the Tees Valley and North York Moors National Park, with the 28-year-old Welshman, riding for the Israel – Premier Tech team taking his first win in his home tour.
As soon as the flag dropped under the watchful gaze of Darlington’s historic clock tower, the peloton got straight into the action with a flurry of attacks. A few small breaks managed to get away inside the first 20km, but nothing was able to stick.
After a number of attacks, a break finally managed to get established, including Nickolas Zukowsky (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team), James McKay (Saint Piran), Laurent Gervais, Cade Bickmore (both Project Echelon Racing), Callum Thornley, Dean Harvey (both TRINITY Racing), Louis Sutton (Great Britain Cycling Team), Baptiste Veistroffer (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Development Team). The eight-man breakaway had a gap of 3:34 with 120km remaining. Zukowsky took the first sprint points of the day ahead of McKay as the head of the race entered Stokesley.
The Soudal Quick-Step team, of stage one winner and race leader Paul Magnier, led the charge in the chasing peloton as the riders started on the undulating terrain after a flat, fast start.
Entering the first categorised climb of the day with Ugglebarnby Moor averaging 9%, the break just dipped under three minutes as a chasing group of six riders broke free, with Tobias Foss (INEOS Grenadiers) looking particularly active.
King of the Mountain leader Thornley claimed maximum points at the head of the race, extending his advantage ahead of Bickmore and Gervais. Behind, Foss was setting a blistering pace for yesterday’s fourth place finisher Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers), with the peloton reducing the gap to 1:41 as they crested the climb.
Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men | Darlington to Redcar 2024 – Remco on the North York Moors
The chasing group established itself with Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious), Joey Rosskopf (Q36.5 Pro Cycling), Oliver Peace (dsm-firmenich PostNL), Joe Blackmore (Israel-Premier Tech) and Ben Swift (INEOS Grenadiers) getting stuck in as INEOS Grenadiers putting in more attacks.
Reaching the second climb of the day at Raw Pasture Bank at 1.7km and an average gradient of 6.7%, Thornley took the top 10 points once again to extend his lead even further, well supported by teammate Harvey in second.
The peloton were still 1:11 behind the chasing group and 1:55 behind the leading break as they came to the third and final King of the Mountain climb of the day on Lythe Bank.
Averaging 9% for 3.6km, with under 50km to go, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) attacked from the main peloton, taking Pidcock, Oscar Onley (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL), Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step) and Williams with him. As Thornley took maximum points once again, the Evenepoel bunch bridged over to the chasing group, while Pidcock was unable to hold the pace and had to battle on alone.
On the descent, the pace from Evenepoel meant they caught the leaders to make a front group of 15. The pace continued to remain high with Alaphilippe storming from the front. Swift dropped back to assist Pidcock in his efforts to bridge over, with Edoardo Zambanini (Bahrain Victorious) sitting on their wheels with 43km remaining.
Evenepoel once again took to the front to string the bunch out further, with a gap of 1:30 to the peloton inside the final 40km as the INEOS Grenadier riders dropped back into the main bunch.
Alaphilippe then attacked from the front to breakaway and form a group of seven riders, including Onley, Williams, Blackmore, Alaphilippe, Sutton, Mark Donovan (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) and Veistroffer (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale DT), with Evenepoel and Jake Stewart (Israel – Premier Tech) bridging over with 26km remaining.
Attacks continued to rock the front of the race, with Onley forming a small gap before being foiled, and a counter-attack from Alaphilippe was also quickly shut down as the riders entered 15km to go.
The final ascent up Saltburn Bank saw Williams attack hard, with Onley the only rider to respond. The pair worked together well, with Alaphilippe chasing solo behind. The French rider eventually bridged over with 7km remaining, racking up a lead of 20 seconds.
Entering the final straight to the finish, it was a real cat and mouse sprint to the line, with the riders watching each other before Alaphilippe bit first. The Frenchman was unable to match the power of Williams though, with the Welsh rider powering to the win as Onley took third. The chasing bunch saw Blackmore get the better of Evenepoel 20 seconds back. The attacking efforts from Evenepoel saw him awarded the Combativity award.
Williams’ win catapults him into the lead on the general classification, while Thornley’s climbing antics sees him extend his King of the Mountain advantage. A third place finish today was enough to see Onley take the best young rider jersey, while Julius Johansen (Sabgal/Anicolor) retained the lead in the points classification.
Taking his third win of the year, Williams said:
“It’s really good to get my hands in the air. It was a really tough day out, especially the last hour when the race opened up. I think the way we rode was in such a way that we always had numbers everywhere and we showed that in the final, so I’m over the moon.
“The climb was stacked and the finish as well so it’s good to see people out cheering and supporting the race and us riders. That always gives us an extra bit of motivation especially on the climbs.
“The aim now is to try and hold onto the jersey – it’s not the easiest job in the world. It takes a lot of things going right and a strong team. We have a strong team so hopefully everything goes right on the road and we’ll see what happens in the next few days.”
Speaking after the stage, Scottish rider Onley said:
“It was a nice day of racing. The final opened up quite early with a bigger group, we were fortunate to have Ollie [Peace] in there so when the stronger guys went on the last categorised climb it was really useful to have him there to help pace for a bit. From there, it was whittling down all the time and I managed to get away with Stevie [Williams] and [Julian] Alaphilippe which kept things a little more simple which I liked.
“Tomorrow is not suited so well to me and it is sprints after that but maybe there will be opportunities. Stevie is obviously a smart and strong rider, I’ve raced against him quite a bit this year and I know his strengths so I’ll try and look for opportunities.”
Stage three on Thursday 5 September sees the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men return to South Yorkshire for the first time since 2007. The 166-kilometre stage will take in all four boroughs of South Yorkshire (Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and Sheffield), starting from Arundel Gate in Sheffield city centre at 11am, and finishing on County Way in Barnsley.
PRESS RELEASE TUESDAY 3 SEPTEMBER 2024 - Images Chris Maher
MAGNIER SOARS TO LLOYDS BANK TOUR OF BRITAIN MEN FIRST STAGE WIN IN KELSO
Paul Magnier soared to the win on the first stage of the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men, with a scintillating sprint finish victory for the 20-year-old Soudal Quick-Step rider in Kelso.
With the stage starting and finishing in the Scottish Border town of Kelso, the riders tackled an undulating 181.9km course with 1,885m of climbing and three categorised climbs – two of which were scaled twice.
An exciting start saw a flurry of attacks from the off, with riders from TRINITY Racing and the Great Britain Cycling Team quick to assert dominance at the front of the race.
Peebles resident Callum Thornley (TRINITY Racing) and Julius Johansen (Sabgal/Anicolor) made the first significant move of the day, before being shortly joined by Callum Ormiston (Global 6 United) inside the first 20km. The trio racked up a lead of three and a half minutes, before facing the first categorised climb of the day with Scott’s View at 64.4km in.
At 2.2km in length and an average of 2.9%, Thornley beat Ormiston to the first King of the Mountains win of the race, with the gap to the peloton at 3:17.
Shortly after, the first intermediate sprint through Melrose saw Johansen get the better of the three to take the win ahead of Thornley, before summiting the second climb of the day to Dingleton.
The second-category climb, averaging 6.1%, saw Thornley take maximum points once again in a battle against Ormiston. The gap to the peloton reduced to 1:50 as Gianni Moscon (Soudal Quick-Step) continued to work alongside teammate and double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel.
Inside the final 100km, Thornley once again led the break up the third categorised climb, Dunion Hill, securing his third and final King of the Mountain win of the day to take the overall jersey into tomorrow’s stage.
A super fast descent with 75km to go saw Ormiston drop backwards to leave Thornley and Johansen out front, with the pair having a 1:35 advantage over the chasing peloton as Soudal Quick-Step continued to lead the charge.
Coming back through Kelso with 55km to go, the riders raced to the line for the second intermediate sprint of the day. Johansen picked up three seconds and the sprint win, while Ben Turner (INEOS Grenadiers) surged for the line from the peloton to take third.
With just 39km remaining, INEOS Grenadiers began to bring it back, hitting the front ferociously and forcing five riders to go clear. Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step) counter-attacked, before Evenepoel went hard from the peloton as it all began to heat up.
As Thornley took another King of the Mountains win up Scott’s View, the gap to the peloton was reduced to 56 seconds. The pressure from the attacks in the peloton saw the race splinter, with a chasing group determined to keep on the pace.
Happy with his day’s effort, Thornley sat up, leaving Johansen to battle on alone with 30km remaining as another flurry of attacks kicked in 32 seconds back.
Johansen clung on to take another intermediate sprint, before being swallowed up by a storming peloton, led by INEOS Grenadiers, Uno-X Mobility and Bahrain Victorious.
Coming up Dingleton for the final climb of the day, Alaphilippe attacked at the foot, with Kelso local Oscar Onley (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) following. Matt Holmes (Great Britain Cycling Team) soon took to the front, with Onley and Joe Blackmore (Israel – Premier Tech) close behind with 24km to go.
A flurry of attacks ensued, with Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious), Evenepoel and Turner all having a go, but nothing was able to stick as the road flattened out with 20km remaining.
INEOS Grenadiers continued to storm at the front with Tobias Foss doing most of the leg work, before Baptiste Veistroffer (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale DT) attacked inside the final 7km.
Foss continued to work for INEOS Grenadiers as Soudal Quick-Step came through with 2.8km to go, swallowing up the lone French rider.
Turner and Evenepoel took to the front to lead out the two teams, with British champion Ethan Hayter (INEOS Grenadiers) on his teammates’ wheel, but a sharp final bend saw Hayter pushed wide and out of contention.
A sprint to the line saw Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) fire to the victory as Ethan Vernon (Israel – Premier Tech) soared to second, while young rider Bob Donaldson (TRINITY Racing) secured third.
Magnier’s win – his sixth of the year – saw him take the leader’s jersey and the best young rider jersey, which will be worn by Donaldson tomorrow.
With all the intermediate sprint wins under his belt, Johansen is top of the points classification. Thornley secured the King of the Mountains jersey with his climbing prowess, which also saw him awarded the Combativity award.
Speaking after the stage, Magnier said:
“I’m really happy to take the victory for the team today. Incredible – we did an amazing team performance today. We tried Remco [Evenepoel] and Julian [Alaphilippe] on the climb but it was really hard so in the end, they tried for me in the bunch race. They give you wings when such big riders are working for you.”
Scottish rider Thornley added:
“It’s pretty special to do that on home roads. That was my plan at the start of the race – to get in the breakaway – and to make it happen is pretty special.
“Early on, [Johansen] asked me what I wanted out of the stage and I said I wanted the KoM points. I said if he wanted, we could work together and he could get the sprint and I could get the KoM points so it was a good little duo”.“It was good seeing all the Scottish flags up there. I’ll have to try and get in the breakaway again and get as many points as I can. The goal will be to defend it, there’s going to be some hard days out, we’ll see what we can do.”
Stage two on Wednesday 4 September takes place in the Tees Valley and North Yorkshire with a 152.1-kilometre leg from Darlington to Redcar, crossing the climbs of the North York Moors National Park.
PRESS RELEASE SUNDAY 1 SEPTEMBER 2024
START LIST ANNOUNCED with 107 riders taking the start in Kelso
Download PDF Start List Here
Paris 2024 Olympic Games gold medallists Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers), headline the 108-rider provisional start list for the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men, which gets underway in Kelso, Scottish Borders on Tuesday (3 September).
“I am looking forward to returning to racing at the Tour of Britain, after my post-Olympics break,” said Evenepoel. “My last period of racing was very special for me and it was great that I could recharge a little afterwards, but it’s time to pin on a number again as I look forward to the big races of this autumn. It is especially nice that I can start in Scotland, where I have the memories of winning the Worlds ITT race last summer.”
Olympic road race and time-trial champion Evenepoel, and cross-country mountain bike champion Pidcock, will be joined by a brace of British silver medallists from the team pursuit squad in Ethan Hayter (INEOS Grenadiers) and Ethan Vernon (Israel – Premier Tech).
Hayter, who is also the current Lloyds Bank British national road race champion, is part of an INEOS Grenadiers line-up who will feel well at home on stage three in South Yorkshire, with team members Ben Swift, Connor Swift, and Ben Turner, hailing from Rotherham, Thorne, and Doncaster respectively in that region.
Connor and Ben arrive at the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men having finished first and third respectively at the British national gravel championships in Scotland this weekend. The INEOS Grenadiers line-up is completed by race debutant Tobias Foss, the 2022 world time-trial champion.
Vernon will be joined by a trio of Brits in his team with Jake Stewart, Stevie Williams, and recent history maker Joseph Blackmore, who last weekend became the first British rider to win the Tour de l’Avenir. Australian pair Nick Schultz and Simon Clarke, twice a top 10 overall finisher from his seven participations, complete that line-up.
Commenting on the race, Williams said; “This will be my third Tour of Britain and, after coming close to getting a really good result last year, I’m even more motivated to do well. I love racing in the UK and going there with three other British riders, it doesn’t get much better than that. Hopefully it’ll be a good week with the boys.” Teammate Stewart added; “It’s the first time I’ll have done the race with my trade team as opposed to a national one, and we’re coming with a really strong squad that can be competitive across all the stages and the GC, especially with Stevie and Joe. “I’m going to bring everything I’ve learned from the lead-outs in the Tour de France for the link up with Ethan. Also, I was so close to a stage win in 2022, so if the opportunity arises it would be amazing to get my hands up in the air. With the strength of the squad we’ve got it’s going to be a good week.”
The Bahrain Victorious team will make their race debut, but with a familiar name to British fans leading them in Wout Poels, who has one a stage on each of his four appearances in the race, and twice finished as runner-up overall (2015 & 2018). Among his teammates will be Pello Bilbao, who has five top 10 overall finishes across the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France, with stage wins in both races.
Former Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men winner Julian Alaphilippe joins Evenepoel in the Soudal Quick-Step team, with the duo will be joined by Bretagne Classic runner-up and GiroNextGen points jersey winner Paul Magnier, neo-pro Gil Gelders, who recently finished top ten at the Deutschland Tour, Martin Svrcek, and Gianni Moscon, whose last appearance in the race in 2019 saw him finish sixth overall.
A quartet of reigning national road race champions join Hayter in displaying their special jerseys at the race, with Rasmus Pedersen (Denmark, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Development Team), Markus Hoelgaard (Norway, Uno-X Mobility), Emīls Liepiņš (Latvia, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL), and Norman Vahtra (Estonia, Van Rysel – Roubaix).
Liepiņš will have hometown hero Oscar Onley (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) at his side as the Tour begins on stage one, with Onley enjoying the distinction of starting his national race in his hometown of Kelso, while teammate and fellow Scot Sean Flynn, and TRINITY Racing’s Callum Thornley, from Peebles, will also enjoy home support in the Scottish Borders on day one.
Adding to INEOS Grenadiers’ South Yorkshire contingent on home roads on day three will be Saint Piran’s James McKay, who lives in Sheffield where the race starts. Other Brits like him making their Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men debuts include Joseph Pidcock (TRINITY Racing), younger brother of Tom, Ben Wiggins (Great Britain Cycling Team), and Ben Askey (Groupama-FDJ Continental).
Among the other British riders lining up in Scotland will be Matt Holmes (Great Britain Cycling Team) and Mark Donovan (Q36.5 Pro Cycling), who have both won the Best British Rider prize in the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men, in 2019 and 2023 respectively.
“I’m very excited for my home race,” said Donovan. “Last year was great, with Damo [Damien Howson] and I finishing 3rd and 5th in the GC. This year, I’m aiming to take it a step further, either by winning the overall or at least securing a podium spot. Winning my home race would be incredible! The first stages will be tough, likely followed by a few sprint stages towards the end. As a team, we’re coming in with the ambition to win, and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Other riders to look out for include Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility), who wore the mountains jersey at the Tour de France for ten days this summer, Damien Howson (Q36.5 Pro Cycling), who finished third overall in 2023, Jacob Scott (REMBE Pro Cycling Team Sauerland), a double winner of the King of the Mountains jersey (2019 and 2021) in the race, and Tour of Austria prologue winner Cameron Rogers (Lidl-Trek Future Racing).
Commenting on the provisional start list, Rod Ellingworth, Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men Race Director, said; “We are very excited by the line-up of teams and riders who will be on the start line in Kelso on Tuesday, headlined by our 2024 Paris Olympic Games medallists.
“The publication of the provisional start list adds to the sense of excitement building around the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men, and we now can’t wait to get racing underway, and for six days of action packed racing for fans to look forward to.” In total 18 teams, including six that participated in this summer’s Tour de France, from 12 countries will line-up in Scotland for stage one on Tuesday 3 September for a field of 108 riders”.
The Scottish Borders stage is followed by legs in the Tees Valley, South Yorkshire, the East Midlands and West Northamptonshire, before concluding in Suffolk on Sunday 8 September after six stages of action-packed racing.
Stages
Stage one Tuesday 3 September Kelso to Kelso
Stage two Wednesday 4 September Darlington to Redcar
Stage three Thursday 5 September Sheffield to Barnsley
Stage four Friday 6 September Derby to Newark-on-Trent
Stage five Saturday 7 September Northampton to Northampton
Stage six Sunday 8 September Lowestoft to Felixstowe
Teams
UCI WorldTeams: Bahrain Victorious (Bahrain); INEOS Grenadiers (Great Britain); Soudal Quick-Step (Belgium); Team dsm-firmenich PostNL (Netherlands)
UCI ProTeams: Israel – Premier Tech (Israel); Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team (Switzerland); Uno-X Mobility (Norway)
UCI Continental Teams: Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Development Team (France); Equipe continentale Groupama-FDJ (France); Global 6 United (Luxembourg); Lidl – Trek Future Racing (USA); Project Echelon Racing (USA); REMBE Pro Cycling Team Sauerland (Germany); Sabgal / Anicolor (Portugal); Saint Piran (Great Britain); TRINITY Racing (Great Britain); Van Rysel – Roubaix (France)
National Teams: Great Britain Cycling Team
Relaunched in 2004 after a five-year absence from the calendar, the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men is British Cycling’s premier road cycling event, held annually across six stages in September. In 2024 the race celebrates the 20th edition in its modern incarnation.
The free-to-watch sporting spectacular features Olympic, world and Tour de France champions, and attracts a roadside audience of over 1m spectators. Live coverage of the race is shown daily in the UK on ITV4, in addition to around the world. The Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men is part of the UCI ProSeries, making it one of the most prestigious sporting events in the sport’s global calendar.
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