British Cycling - Road Tour of Britain

OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Press Release Round Up

OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 Roundup Press Releases

Mathieu van der Poel crowned OVO Energy Tour of Britain champion

Mathieu van der Poel reiterated his billing as the hottest talent in professional cycling on Saturday as he was crowned the 2019 OVO Energy Tour of Britain champion in Manchester.

OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 8 Altrincham – Manchester – Stage Winner, Mathieu Van Der Poel, Corendon – Circus

The 24-year-old Dutchman sealed his victory in style, sprinting to win the eighth and final stage of this year’s race after a frantic day of racing around all 10 Greater Manchester boroughs.

Van der Poel outsprinted compatriot Cees Bol (Team Sunweb) by a tyre width on Deansgate in Manchester city centre, with overall runner-up and Cetaphil Points classification winner Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-SCOTT) placing third across the line.

“It wasn’t an easy day today, a lot of teams tried to attack us,” said van der Poel. “Coming into Tour of Britain I didn’t really think it was possible because of the time trial which I hadn’t done in a really long time. But after the time trial I started to believe I could win the GC, but today was harder than I thought it would be and I’m really happy with the feeling also today and it’s been a good week for us.

OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 8 Altrincham – Manchester – Setting the pace, Corendon – Circus

Van der Poel went on to praise the work of his Corendon Circus teammates, saying, “They’ve really over done it I think, really, I’m proud of them. We are not the biggest team here, but they gave everything they had, also after the steep climb we were still three riders in the first group, and they did an amazing job after yesterday.”

While Corendon Circus and the Jumbo Visma team of triple stage winner Dylan Groenewegen initially did well to control the breakaway of Matt Holmes (Madison Genesis), Gabriel Cullaigh (Team WIGGINS Le Col) and Emil Vinjebo (Riwal Readynez), but the race erupted into life on the infamous climb of the Rake above Ramsbottom.

OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 8 Altrincham – Manchester – breakaway of Matt Holmes (Madison Genesis), Gabriel Cullaigh (Team WIGGINS Le Col) and Emil Vinjebo (Riwal Readynez

Pavel Sivakov sparked proceedings into life on the slopes of the Rake, with his Team INEOS teammates taking up the mantle with a flurry of attacks across the moors north of Manchester. Movistar’s Andrey Amador was the main beneficiary, building a 49 second lead at one point before being reeled back in by the pace of the reduced front group.

OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 8 Altrincham – Manchester – Pavel Sivakov on the Rake

With 25 kilometres remaining INEOS’ Michal Golas was joined off the front by Larry Warbasse (AG2R La Mondiale) and Mark Christian (Team WIGGINS Le Col) but their lead only lasted until the 10 kilometre mark as the Tour raced through Salford, setting up a thrilling finish on Deansgate.

It was Team Sunweb’s Cees Bol that picked up the sprint coming out of the final left hand turn onto the long finishing straight, with van der Poel coming around him to just hold off the fast finishing Trentin.

Trentin’s finishing record of top ten finishes on every stage barring the individual time trial gave him a comfortable victory in the Cetaphil Points jersey from van der Poel, while former race winner Dylan van Baarle (Team INEOS) was voted the overall Wahooligan Combativity award winner in a public poll on the event’s social media channels.

British domestic teams took home both the SKODA King of the Mountains and Eisberg Sprints jerseys, as Jacob Scott (Swift Carbon Pro Cycling) confirmed his victory in the former, two years on from having agonisingly lost the same jersey on the final day of racing.

“It’s just something I didn’t do two years ago I guess,” said Scott. “I lost by one point then and won by probably I don’t know how many now. It’s a change. I wouldn’t say it was a specific target coming in, I wanted to try to something in a stage which I wanted to do today but I’m quite happy to win it obviously.”

Winning the Eisberg Sprints jersey was Rory Townsend, ensuring that his Canyon dhb p/b Bloor Homes team took the red jersey for a second year.

“We had Alex [Paton] who won it last year and it’s just kind of picking up from where he left off, was part of the plan, it’s something we wanted to do in the race,” said Townsend, before explaining his reaction to taking the jersey he’d initially claimed after Stage one in Scotland.

“Just pure relief. It was really nice. I was very happy with how the stage started today, three guys up the road who weren’t in contention. Then of course that last sprint was a little bit up in the air.”

Townsend’s win the jersey also rounded out a successful week, having been called up to the Irish squad for the road World Championships in Yorkshire at the end of the month. Come the World’s Townsend will be racing in green, but in Manchester on Saturday there was only one green jersey that people were speaking about, that of stage winner and 2019 OVO Energy Tour of Britain champion Mathieu van der Poel.

OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 8 Altrincham – Manchester – Stage Winner, Mathieu Van Der Poel, Corendon – Circus
Stage 8 Results top 50 Altrincham to Manchester 166kms

1 81 VAN DER POEL Mathieu 00″ COC NED B:10″
2 161 BOL Cees ‘ ‘ SUN NED B:06″
3 41 TRENTIN Matteo ‘ ‘ MTS ITA B:05″
4 15 TEUNISSEN Mike ‘ ‘ TJV NED
5 112 CIMOLAI Davide ‘ ‘ ICA ITA
6 102 MODOLO Sacha ‘ ‘ EF1 ITA
7 166 EEKHOFF Nils ‘ ‘ SUN NED
8 132 DE BUYST Jasper ‘ ‘ LTS BEL
9 51 MEURISSE Xandro ‘ ‘ WGG BEL
10 63 WYSS Danilo ‘ ‘ TDD SUI
11 91 SWIFT Connor ‘ ‘ GBR GBR
12 32 POLITT Nils ‘ ‘ TKA GER
13 23 BARBERO CUESTA Carlos ‘ ‘ MOV ESP
14 94 STEWART Jake ‘ ‘ GBR GBR
15 131 BENOOT Tiesj ‘ ‘ LTS BEL
16 1 SWIFT Ben ‘ ‘ INS GBR
17 101 CLARKE Simon ‘ ‘ EF1 AUS
18 6 SIVAKOV Pavel ‘ ‘ INS RUS
19 4 MOSCON Gianni ‘ ‘ INS ITA
20 22 AMADOR Andrey ‘ ‘ MOV CRC B:03″
21 82 DE BONDT Dries ‘ ‘ COC BEL B:02″
22 143 SPRENGERS Thomas ‘ ‘ SVB BEL
23 164 HAMILTON Christopher ‘ ‘ SUN AUS
24 104 KANGERT Tanel ‘ ‘ EF1 EST
25 76 WARBASSE Lawrence ‘ ‘ ALM USA
26 192 CHRISTIAN Mark ‘ ‘ WGN GBR
27 14 JANSEN Amund Grondal ‘ ‘ TJV NOR
28 45 EDMONDSON Alexander ‘ ‘ MTS AUS
29 151 HOLMES Matthew ‘ ‘ MGT GBR B:06″
30 46 MEYER Cameron ‘ ‘ MTS AUS
31 171 KAMP Alexander ‘ ‘ RIW DEN
32 74 GASTAUER Ben ‘ ‘ ALM LUX
33 114 HERMANS Ben ‘ ‘ ICA BEL
34 24 CARRETERO Hector 13″ MOV ESP
35 136 VAN MOER Brent ‘ ‘ LTS BEL
36 172 ERIKSSON Lucas ‘ ‘ RIW SWE
37 86 WALSLEBEN Philipp 19″ COC GER
38 43 BAUER Jack 22″ MTS NZL
39 5 DUNBAR Edward 24″ INS IRL
40 21 LANDA MEANA Mikel ‘ ‘ MOV ESP
41 2 VAN BAARLE Dylan ‘ ‘ INS NED
42 44 DURBRIDGE Luke 01’15” MTS AUS
43 165 STORK Florian 01’30” SUN GER
44 3 GOLAS Michal 00″ INS POL
45 42 AFFINI Edoardo 02’29” MTS ITA
46 145 VERWILST Aaron 06’17” SVB BEL
47 146 WILLEMS Thimo ‘ ‘ SVB BEL
48 122 BOSTOCK Matthew ‘ ‘ DHB GBR
49 123 COLMAN Alex ‘ ‘
50 93 Jim Brown GBR GBR

OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 8 Altrincham – Manchester – Best British – Ben Swift
Jersey Winners for Stage 8 Altrincham to Manchester

Stage Winner 81 VAN DER POEL Mathieu CORENDON – CIRCUS
Stage Best British British Cycling 91 SWIFT Connor GREAT BRITAIN CYCLING TEAM
Stage Best Team TEAM SUNWEBSUN
Combativity Wahoo 6 SIVAKOV Pavel TEAM INEOS

Overall Jersey Winners for OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019

OVO Energy Green Jersey 81 VAN DER POEL Mathieu CORENDON – CIRCUS
Points Cetaphil Blue Jersey 41 TRENTIN Matteo MITCHELTON – SCOTT
King of the Mountains Skoda 185 SCOTT Jacob SWIFTCARBON PRO CYCLING
Best British British Cycling 151 HOLMES Matthew MADISON GENESIS
Sprints Eisberg Red Jersey 125 TOWNSEND Rory CANYON DHB P / B BLOOR HOMES
Team TEAM INEOSINS
Overall Combativity Wahoo 2 VAN BAARLE Dylan TEAM INEOS

OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 8 Altrincham – Manchester – L-R Matteo Trentin, Mattieu Van Der Poel & Jasper De Buyst
General Classification Overall Top 50 after Stage 8

1 81 00″ COC NED 29h47’41″VAN DER POEL Mathieu
2 41 17″ MTS ITA 29h47’58″TRENTIN Matteo
3 132 50″ LTS BEL 29h48’31″DE BUYST Jasper
4 6 52″ INS RUS 29h48’33″SIVAKOV Pavel
5 32 01’01” TKA GER 29h48’42″POLITT Nils
6 4 ‘ ‘ INS ITA ‘ ‘MOSCON Gianni
7 15 01’03” TJV NED 29h48’44″TEUNISSEN Mike
8 22 01’04” MOV CRC 29h48’45″AMADOR Andrey
9 131 01’07” LTS BEL 29h48’48″BENOOT Tiesj
10 14 01’08” TJV NOR 29h48’49″JANSEN Amund Grondal
11 101 ‘ ‘ EF1 AUS ‘ ‘CLARKE Simon
12 104 01’10” EF1 EST 29h48’51″KANGERT Tanel
13 76 01’25” ALM USA 29h49’06″WARBASSE Lawrence
14 51 01’27” WGG BEL 29h49’08″MEURISSE Xandro
15 151 01’34” MGT GBR 29h49’15″HOLMES Matthew
16 164 ‘ ‘ SUN AUS ‘ ‘HAMILTON Christopher
17 1 01’35” INS GBR 29h49’16″SWIFT Ben
18 171 01’38” RIW DEN 29h49’19″KAMP Alexander
19 192 01’44” WGN GBR 29h49’25″CHRISTIAN Mark
20 114 01’49” ICA BEL 29h49’30″HERMANS Ben
21 63 01’58” TDD SUI 29h49’39″WYSS Danilo
22 91 02’19” GBR GBR 29h50’00″SWIFT Connor
23 143 02’27” SVB BEL 29h50’08″SPRENGERS Thomas
24 136 02’41” LTS BEL 29h50’22″VAN MOER Brent
25 45 02’51” MTS AUS 29h50’32″EDMONDSON Alexander
26 46 03’15” MTS AUS 29h50’56″MEYER Cameron
27 3 03’44” INS POL 29h51’25″GOLAS Michal
28 44 04’10” MTS AUS 29h51’51″DURBRIDGE Luke
29 172 05’08” RIW SWE 29h52’49″ERIKSSON Lucas
30 165 07’53” SUN GER 29h55’34″STORK Florian
31 72 08’25” ALM FRA 29h56’06″CHEREL Mikaël
32 181 08’41” SCB GBR 29h56’22″SHAW James
33 191 08’56” WGN GBR 29h56’37″DONOVAN Mark
34 116 09’09” ICA BEL 29h56’50″VAN ASBROECK Tom
35 25 09’14” MOV ARG 29h56’55″SEPULVEDA Eduardo
36 74 09’22” ALM LUX 29h57’03″GASTAUER Ben
37 66 11’49” TDD BEL 29h59’30″VERMOTE Julien
38 23 12’04” MOV ESP 29h59’45″BARBERO CUESTA Carlos
39 21 12’54” MOV ESP 30h00’35″LANDA MEANA Mikel
40 126 13’03” DHB NZL 30h00’44″CHRISTENSEN Ryan
41 2 14’30” INS NED 30h02’11″VAN BAARLE Dylan
42 84 15’15” COC BEL 30h02’56″JANSSENS Jimmy
43 71 15’52” ALM FRA 30h03’33″GALLOPIN Tony
44 146 16’21” SVB BEL 30h04’02″WILLEMS Thimo
45 105 16’32” EF1 NED 30h04’13″LANGEVELD Sebastian
46 145 16’44” SVB BEL 30h04’25″VERWILST Aaron
47 112 17’15” ICA ITA 30h04’56″CIMOLAI Davide
48 173 17’19” RIW NOR 30h05’00″LUNKE Sindre Skjøstad
49 86 19’02” COC GER 30h06’43″WALSLEBEN Philipp
50 16 19’40 TVJ NED 30h07,21 VAN EMDEN Jos

Stage 7 Press Release [All Words by Sweetspot – Images by Chris Maher]

FRIDAY 13 SEPTEMBER 2019

Mathieu van der Poel edges closer to OVO Energy Tour of Britain title with Warwickshire stage win

OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 4 Gateshead to Kendal – Stage Winner, Mathieu Van Der Poel – Corendon – Circus Cycling Team

Mathieu van der Poel moved closer to being crowned the 2019 OVO Energy Tour of Britain champion on Friday as he beat nearest challenger Matteo Trentin to win stage seven atop Burton Dassett, Warwickshire.

The Dutch rider got the better of Trentin (Mitchelton-SCOTT) in a thrilling sprint up the short but steep climb to extend his overall advantage to 12 seconds with just Saturday’s Greater Manchester finale to come.

Victory atop Burton Dassett – tackled three times in the closing 28 kilometres of Friday’s stage – was van der Poel’s second of the week on British roads following Tuesday’s win in Kendal.

“I’m feeling pretty good. I’m feeling better day by day,” said van der Poel following the stage. “Yesterday I was saying I surprised myself in the TT because that’s something I didn’t do for a long time and I think it’s an indication of the shape, if you can ride that fast for 14km on your own.

“I knew that finishes like this, they suit me very well. The first 70-80km’s was pretty hard actually, there were a lot of attacks and my team handled it perfectly and they did an amazing job. The second to last time we went up the climb I knew it was up to me to be at the front and follow the groups of favourites and then I was alone in the big group, so I had to gamble a little bit again. Coming into the last ascent to the finish line I knew I had a pretty good chance to take the win again today.

“It was really cool to get up the climb and put in a final effort before all the crowds. I like to race here. Again the sun was out so I’m happy.”

Beyond nearest rival Trentin, Jasper De Buyst (Lotto Soudal) sits 40 seconds in arrears, having slipped ahead of Team INEOS rider Pavel Sivakov thanks to time bonuses collected at an intermediate Eisberg Sprint during the Warwickshire.

“I have to believe” said van der Poel. “I think I did a really good job today, also with the first bonus sprint I didn’t lose any seconds. It’s going to be a hard day again tomorrow and it’s won’t be over until I cross the finish line but I’m confident we’re going to make it.”

Trentin retains the Cetaphil Points jersey with an 11 point advantage before Manchester, but recognises the challenge he faces in displacing van der Poel from the race lead.

“If you race with the best and you want to compete with them you need to raise your level, especially on this kind of finish line,” said Trentin. “At the moment he is the best in the world, I don’t see anyone who can get close to him at the moment.

“It was a good day out. Really fast race. I was with Mathieu until the last corner and then he just kicked off again and I had no response. But I have to say, compared to the last finish line he won, I stepped up a little bit. I was at least on his wheel!”

Trentin’s Mitchelton-SCOTT teammate Cameron Meyer had been in the thick of the action in a stage which started off by covering almost 50 kilometres in the first hour of racing, but it was his breakaway companion Dylan van Baarle (Team INEOS) who had collected the majority of the SKODA King of the Mountains and Eisberg Sprint points in Warwickshire.

Jacob Scott (Swift Carbon Pro Cycling) keeps the SKODA King of the Mountains jersey and just needs to finish the final stage to claim the jersey, which he previously went close to winning in the 2017 Tour.

Van Baarle’s breakaway did move him into second place in the Eisberg Sprints classification, just three points behind Rory Townsend (Canyon dhb p/b Bloor Homes) with nine points available on the roads of Greater Manchester.

One rider enjoying the clear blue skies and sunshine of Warwickshire was Coventry rider Jake Stewart (Great Britain), saying afterwards, “It was really nice, I knew where I was for most of the day, but it was just full gas for the first hour and a half until a break went, and it wasn’t pleasant.

“There’s been plenty of support along the route, a lot of friends and family out so it gives you a bit of extra motivation but if the legs aren’t there it’s useless isn’t it!”

Stage 6 Press Release

THURSDAY 12 SEPTEMBER 2019

Mathieu van der Poel retakes OVO Energy Tour of Britain lead

Mathieu van der Poel retook the lead in the 2019 OVO Energy Tour of Britain after placing sixth in Thursday’s Pershore individual time trial, a stage that saw Italian rider Edoardo Affini claim the biggest victory of his fledgling professional career to date.

Corendon – Circus rider van der Poel – who won in Kendal on Tuesday – placed sixth on the stage in Worcestershire to retake the OVO Energy green jersey from Affini’s Mitchelton-SCOTT team-mate Matteo Trentin.

Affini posted a time of 16’39” for the 14.4-kilometre course, beating nearest challenger Sebastian Langeveld (EF Education First) by seven seconds, with former race winner Dylan van Baarle (Team INEOS) on the same time.

“I kind of surprised myself,” said van der Poel. “The last real time trial I did was when I was a junior, that’s a long time ago. I’m really satisfied with the performance and I liked it out there today.

“It’s going to be a hard race for sure the next few days. Matteo [Trentin] is my closest opponent and he already showed that he’s fast in the end as well. With the bonus seconds, it’s going to be really tight battle until the last day.

“The riders from INEOS are also not that far behind and they have a really strong team here. They’ve already showed that. I think there a lot of riders who can still win the race.”

Van der Poel now leads by six seconds from Trentin, who retains the Cetaphil Points jersey, with Pavel Sivakov (Team INEOS) at 24 seconds, and Jasper De Buyst (Lotto Soudal) and Nils Politt (Team KATUSHA ALPECIN) a further two and three seconds in arrears respectively.

Speaking afterwards, stage winner Edoardo Affini commented on his biggest win, “It’s amazing, it’s my second victory this year and first year as a professional. For sure I’m really happy because the field here was really good field of riders for the TT and it gave me some confidence.

“Every rider was looking way faster than me at the time split so every time I was like ‘Maybe it’s not going to happen’ but in the end it looked like I was really able to make the difference on the way back home and I think it worked well with pacing myself so really, really happy.”

Ben Swift (Team INEOS) is the top British rider overall, in 13th position, 49 seconds in arrears.

The three classification jerseys remained unchanged, with Trentin in the Cetaphil Points jersey and Rory Townsend (Canyon dhb p/b Bloor Homes) retaining the Eisberg Sprints jersey by four points from Dries de Bondt (Corendon Circus) with two days remaining.

Jake Scott (Swift Carbon Pro Cycling) enjoys a 21 point lead in the SKODA King of the Mountains classification from de Bondt, and could wrap up the climbers’ jersey during the Warwickshire stage.

Stage 5 Press Release

WEDNESDAY 11 SEPTEMBER 2019

Matteo Trentin retakes OVO Energy Tour of Britain lead after Wirral stage

Dylan Groenewegen made it three wins in five days at the 2019 OVO Energy Tour of Britain as he sprinted to win the race’s first-ever Wirral stage in Birkenhead Park on Wednesday.

The Team Jumbo – Visma rider added the stage five victory to Saturday’s success in Kirkcudbright and his triumph on Newcastle’s Grey Street on Monday in dominant style.

Great Britain’s Matt Walls notably placed second, with Matteo Trentin’s third-place finish and subsequent time bonus putting the Mitchelton-SCOTT rider back into the OVO Energy green jersey of race leader leading into Thursday’s time trial in Pershore.

“I like this race, it’s a perfect race. I like to race here. It’s another hat-trick [in a race] for me so I’m really proud of that but I’m really motivated to get another win,” said Dylan Groenewegen.

“There was a small climb at the end of today’s stage – it was not a hard climb but the team did a very good job there. We stayed in a good position with one kilometre to go and then we went full gas. The lead-out was perfect. I’m very happy that I was able to take the win. The team worked very hard today and I’m really proud of them.”

Trentin now leads by three seconds from Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon Circus), with a handful of riders also within striking distance ahead of the time trial. One rider who will no longer be a threat to the overall was former winner Steve Cummings (Team Dimension Data), who crashed out of the top 20 and the race on his home roads on the Wirral.

“It was finally a kind of easy day even if it’s not as easy as it looks on television,” said Trentin, “But I think it just gives the guys a little bit of a relax today and try to focus on your sprint and it came out pretty good, I knew that I had to come from the back, to be honest I was a little bit too much but Groenewegen here just demonstrated once again that he’s one step above all the rest and I thought I had a good race and take bonus seconds to be back in the general classification lead.”

The Italian also leads the Cetaphil Points jersey classification by nine points from Davide Cimolai (Israel Cycling Academy).

Thanks to his presence in the day’s breakaway Jacob Scott (Swift Carbon Pro Cycling) moved to a 21 point lead over Dries de Bondt (Corendon Circus) in the SKODA King of the Mountains and also won the public vote for the Wahooligan Combativity award.

Rory Townsend (Canyon dhb p/b Bloor Homes) kept the Eisberg Sprints jersey, despite a fall in the closing stages, with a four point lead over his nearest rival.

Press Release Stage 4

TUESDAY 10 SEPTEMBER 2019

Mathieu van der Poel wins in Kendal to take OVO Energy Tour of Britain lead

OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 4 Gateshead to Kendal – Stage Winner, Mathieu Van Der Poel – Corendon – Circus Cycling Team

Mathieu van der Poel moved into the OVO Energy Tour of Britain lead on Wednesday after winning stage four from Gateshead atop Kendal’s famed Beast Banks climb.

The 24-year-old Dutchman attacked from a reduced peloton 200m up the gruelling Cumbrian finishing climb, crossing the line three seconds ahead of his nearest challengers Jasper de Buyst (Lotto Soudal) and Simon Clarke (EF Education First).

OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 4 Gateshead to Kendal – Green OVO Energy Leader, Mathieu Van Der Poel

While overnight race leader Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-SCOTT) placed ninth on the stage, van der Poel’s 10-second time bonus for his stage victory moved the Corendon – Circus Cycling Team rider into the OVO Energy green jersey at the race’s halfway point.

OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 4 Gateshead to Kendal – Green OVO Energy Leader, Matteo Trentin

Trentin retains his lead in the Cetaphil points jersey, however, while Jake Scott (SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling) and Rory Townsend (Canyon dhb p/b Bloor Homes) kept hold of the SKODA King of the Mountains and Eisberg Sprints jerseys respectively.

“I knew that the finish suited me really well if I had good legs,” said van der Poel afterwards. “I was confident to do a good finish here I think the team did a great job. This climb is perfect for me. I really like those finish straights and it’s something I’m good at especially after a hard stage like today.

“Attacking early was a bit of a gamble because I didn’t really know where the finish line was. I got a bit bumped in yesterday at the finish and I didn’t want it to happen again today, so I just went full gas with 300 metres to go.

“It was actually a bit far but I immediately had a gap. With 100 metres to go the road got a bit easier so it was big enough to keep that gap until the finish line.”

Van der Poel sits one second ahead of Trentin on the general classification, with de Buyst a further six seconds in arrears, while a further 12 riders sit within 20 seconds of the race lead. The Corendon Circus rider believes that Worcestershire’s time trial stage on Thursday will be key to the overall victory.

“It’s going to be a battle for sure but I think the time trial [on stage six] will be decisive and it’s been a long, long time since I’ve done one. I don’t know where I stand in that discipline right now so it’s going to be really hard to be in touch with the best time trial guys here.”

OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 4 Gateshead to Kendal – 3 Man breakaway

An exciting stage that had begun from the south bank of the River Tyne in Gateshead was lit up early on by aggressive riding by Team INEOS duo Eddie Dunbar and Dylan van Baarle, with the latter clinching the Wahooligan Combativity Award for his ride.

However it was a different three man breakaway that had really enlivened proceedings, going clear on the final SKODA King of the Mountains climb at Gawthrop above Dentdale after a diminished peloton had come back together.

The attack of Lotto Soudal rider Tiesj Benoot triggered the move, but it was home rider James Shaw (Swift Carbon Pro Cycling) who went away along with Ben Hermans (Israel Cycling Academy) and Tony Gallopin (AG2R La Mondiale) building a small lead that never looked enough.

That ultimately proved to be so at the foot of Beast Banks climb, as the moment that many cycling fans watching were waiting for as van der Poel unleashed his sprint in dominant fashion.

Stage 3 Press Release

MONDAY 9 SEPTEMBER 2019

Dylan Groenewegen wins North of Tyne OVO Energy Tour of Britain stage

OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 3 Berwick-upon-Tweed to Newcastle-upon-Tyne – Stage 3 Winner, Dylan Groenewegen, 250m to go…

Dutchman Dylan Groenewegen made light work of an uphill finish to sprint to his second stage victory on this year’s OVO Energy Tour of Britain in three days in Newcastle-upon-Tyne on Monday.

The Team Jumbo – Visma Cycling rider crossed the line comfortably ahead of pre-stage favourite Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon – Circus), Davide Cimolai (Israel Cycling Academy) and team-mate Mike Teunissen following the 500-metre uphill drag at the end of the stage from Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-SCOTT) placed fifth to retain the OVO Energy green jersey and Cetaphil Points jersey going into Tuesday’s fourth stage.

“The finish was a little steeper than I was thinking but it was OK in the end – I took the win. Thanks to my team, it was a really good day for us,” said Groenewegen. “Normally this type of finish is not so good for me but today I can get the win, so that’s really good.”

Cimolai’s top three position marginally reduced Trentin’s overnight lead to seven seconds, with van der Poel and Jasper De Buyst (Lotto Soudal) a further four seconds in arrears.

“It was actually harder than I expected”, said the OVO Energy Green jersey Trentin afterwards. “The railway gate mixed up the plan a little bit, the breakaway got time to recover a little more than we hoped for and of course the riders out there were really strong. We needed a good effort to get them back.

“Tomorrow’s going to be the first real GC day, then of course the time trial is going to be the second one. In the Tour of Britain there is always space for some attacks and for things that can happen every day.”

The race being held briefly at a level crossing had threatened to give a six rider breakway, containing Harry Tanfield (Team KATUSHA ALPECIN), Rory Townsend (Canyon dhb p/b Bloor Homes), Jacob Scott (Swift Carbon Pro Cycling), Rob Scott (Team WIGGINS Le Col) and Belgian due Dries de Bondt (Corendon Circus) and Christophe Noppe (Sport Vlaanderen Baloise) their head. When racing resumed Mitchelton-SCOTT and Team Jumbo – Visma worked to bring them back, finally succeeding as the race hit the Newcastle Quayside with one kilometre remaining.

“It was really close,” continued Groenewegen. “We knew the time difference but in the last 10km it was going really quickly down so that was enough for us.”

OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 3 Berwick-upon-Tweed to Newcastle-upon-Tyne – Harry Tanfield, Wahoo Combativity Award

While there was disappointment to not see one of the four domestic riders taking the victory in front of Newcastle city centre’s big crowds, fans did help vote Tanfield the winner of the day’s Wahooligan Combativity award, in what is the most local stage for the North Yorkshireman.

In the Eisberg Sprints competition Rory Townsend reclaimed the red jersey, while built what is a commanding lead in the SKODA King of the Mountains competition, now 13 points clear of nearest challenger De Bondt.

Stage 2 Press Release

SUNDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 2019

Matteo Trentin wins Stage Two in the Scottish Borders

OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 2 Kelso Stage Winner & OVO Energy Green Jersey wearer Matteo Trentin – Mitchelton Scottn

Former European champion Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-SCOTT) moved into the race lead of the OVO Energy Tour of Britain after sprinting to a dramatic victory in Kelso, Scottish Borders, on Sunday.

Trentin pipped Jasper de Buyst (Lotto Soudal), Mike Teunissen (Team Jumbo – Visma Cycling) and Davide Cimolai (Israel Cycling Academy) to the line after a reduced peloton caught brave solo attacker Alex Dowsett (Team KATUSHA ALPECIN) on the final cobbled 50 metres.

Trentin, who placed third in Saturday’s opening stage in Kirkcudbright, gained crucial time bonuses on the line as a result of his win. This, combined with the distancing of overnight leader Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jumbo – Visma Cycling) on the final SKODA King of the Mountains climb of Dingleton, put the Italian rider into the overall lead of the race.

OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 2 Peleton including Matthieu Van Der Poel

“We planned this morning to let Jumbo work through the day and then try to make it as hard as possible on the final climb, we knew that Groenewegan is likely to be dropped if we do everything right,” said Trentin on the win.

“It happened, I still had three guys with me and two of them Durbridge and Cameron Meyer started to pull straight away from the top of the climb and Cam was still really good to bring me and Edmonson into the last corner.

“I wasn’t expecting van der Poel to attack to be honest because I saw him as one of the main favourites for today, but I don’t know what he wanted to do, we actually also tried to contest the intermediate sprint just before the climb to get some seconds for the GC because in this race that’s something I can do but I need to have seconds over the time trialists because otherwise they’re going to smash me in the time trial [Stage Six]. That’s all, so far today was the perfect day for us.”

OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 2 Kelso – 3 Man Breakaway with Gediminas BAGDONAS

After a three-rider breakaway had toiled in the warm Scottish Borders sunshine for much of the day, the race burst into action on the Scott’s View SKODA King of the Mountains climb, with Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon Circus) and Frederik Frison (Lotto Soudal) attacking and bridging to the three leaders.

OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 2 Kelso – 3 Man Breakaway with Gediminas BAGDONAS at Dunns Eisberg Sprint

That spurred an intensified chase and catch on the run to Melrose, with Trentin grabbing three bonus seconds at the intermediate Eisberg Sprint in Melrose at the foot of the final climb at Dingleton.

Over the climb Pavel Sivakov (Team INEOS) went clear but was reeled in by the chasing of Mitchelton – SCOTT on the front of the bunch, which split the field in half, with overnight leader Groenewegen in the rear part of the peloton.

Attacking with three kilometres to go, Dowsett looked like he was going to upset the remaining sprinters, but despite being welcomed into Kelso’s main street by a wall of noise the British time trial champion was caught with 50 metres remaining, holding on to finish seventh on the stage.

Speaking after the finish Dowsett said, “I was looking for an opportunity at about 15k to go but the pace was a bit too high and nothing really presented itself. Then at 3km to go, Mitchelton and Israel couldn’t really decide who was going to do the pulling and there was some hesitations. I saw Cummings went and if he’s going then you know it’s a sign that it’s a good opportunity to go and I jump onto him. I just went straight over the top.

“I glanced once or twice and didn’t see anyone. Then I went over the bridge and caught a glimpse of them. It was pretty heartbreaking them coming around me with 50-100metres to go”.

OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 2 Kelso Stage Winner & OVO Energy Green Jersey wearer Matteo Trentin – Mitchelton Scott

Trentin now leads by 11 seconds overall from Cimolai and De Buyst, while also taking the Cetaphil Points jersey lead. The Eisberg Sprints jersey moves over to Gediminas Bagdonas (AG2R La Mondiale), while Jacob Scott (Swift Carbon Pro Cycling) retains the SKODA King of the Mountains jersey. His Swift Carbon team-mate Peter Williams won the public vote for Wahooligan Combativity award for his efforts in the day’s breakaway.

OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 2 Kelso – Eisberg Red Jersey Gediminas Bagdonas (AG2R La Mondiale)
Stage 1 Press Release

SATURDAY 7 SEPTEMBER 2019

Dylan Groenewegen wins opening stage of OVO Energy Tour of Britain

OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 1 Glasgow to Kirkcudbright – Stage Winner & OVO Energy Green Leader Dylan Groenewegen – Lotto Visma

Dutchman Dylan Groenewegen returned to the OVO Energy Tour of Britain in style on Saturday, winning the opening stage of the 2019 race between Glasgow and Kirkcudbright in Scotland.

Groenewegen, a two-time stage winner in the event, beat Davide Cimolai (Israel Cycling Academy) and former European champion Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-SCOTT) to the line in the Dumfries & Galloway market town after a textbook lead-out from his Jumbo – Visma Cycling team-mates.

He takes the OVO Energy green jersey of race leader going into Sunday’s second stage in the Scottish Borders.

OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 1 Glasgow to Kirkcudbright – Stage Winner & OVO Energy Green Leader Dylan Groenewegen – Lotto Visma

“It was perfect,” said Groenewegen afterwards. “We had no help today so we did it all as a team, we rode very strongly to catch the breakaway make it a sprint. I could take my own line; it was a very good lead out. I was on the wheel of Trentin, and sprinted full gas.

“I’ll look at the road book this evening and hope to win another stage. I think tomorrow’s a new chance and I will try again.”

Team Jumbo Visma had worked tirelessly on the front of the peloton throughout the stage south from Glasgow city centre, with little assistance from other teams. Their work kept the day’s breakaway pinned with never more than a two minute advantage, as Rory Townsend (Canyon dhb p/b Bloor Homes), James Fouche (Team WIGGINS Le Col), Jacob Scott (Swift Carbon Pro Cycling) and Dries de Bondt (Corendon Circus) toiled in the warm Scottish sunshine on the race’s longest day.

OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 1 Glasgow to Kirkcudbright – Stage Winner & OVO Energy Green Leader Dylan Groenewegen – Lotto Visma
OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 1 Glasgow to Kirkcudbright Wahoo Combativity winner Rory Townsend

Consolation for Townsend was the Eisberg Sprints jersey, Wahooligan Combativity Award and a position second in the general classification thanks to time bonuses, three seconds behind Groenewegen.

“It was an absolutely epic stage,” said Townsend following the finish in Kirkcudbright. “The stage itself it started really hard, it seemed like a lot more people were interested in trying to get away this year, I think maybe just the nature of the course means that people don’t necessarily know what they’re going to get out of the race so maybe there’s a little bit more interest in the breakaway so yeah it took a while to go and then once it was the right formation of riders we were away but it seemed like quite a nervous day, we never got more than a minute forty and for 200 kilometres you’re always sort of looking over your shoulder which is not always too much fun but all in all we’re really happy with the day.

“The Wahooligan combativity is a nice extra bonus, that for me is the icing on the cake because to be voted by the people watching at home is so flattering, really, really nice.”

OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 1 Glasgow to Kirkcudbright – Skoda Grey KOM Jersey Jacob Scott

Jacob Scott led the race over all three SKODA King of the Mountains climbs to take the best climbers jersey, already with a five point advantage on fellow escapee James Fouche.

OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 1 Glasgow to Kirkcudbright – Cetaphil Blue Points Jersey Dylan Groenewegen
OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 1 Glasgow to Kirkcudbright – Red Eisberg Sprints Jersey Rory Townsend
OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 2 Kelso – Wahoo Combativity Pete Williams
OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 2 Kelso
OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 4 Gateshead to Kendal – Mitchelton SCOTT in control
OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 4 Gateshead to Kendal – Green OVO Energy Leader Matteo Trentin
OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2019 | Stage 8 Altrincham – Manchester – Race Start…
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