PRESS RELEASE
ALL IMAGES COURTESY of SWpix.com
SUNDAY 10 SEPTEMBER 2023
WOUT VAN AERT CROWNED TOUR OF BRITAIN CHAMPION IN CAERPHILLY
Wout van Aert became only the third rider in history to win the Tour of Britain twice after withstanding multiple attacks in Sunday’s dramatic final stage in South Wales.
The Jumbo – Visma rider finished second in Caerphilly, 11 seconds behind stage winner Carlos Rodriguez (INEOS Grenadiers), who at one point looked set to wrestle victory away from him at the death.
Having previously claimed overall victory in the race in 2021, van Aert joins Edvald Boasson Hagen (2009 and 2015) and Lars Boom (2011 and 2017) as a two-time Tour of Britain champion.
The Belgian star won the race by three seconds over Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team, runner-up), Damien Howson (Q36.5 Pro Cycling, third), and Rodriguez’s team-mate Magnus Sheffield (fourth) and the Sportive Breaks Best Young Rider as the Welsh crowds flocked to the roadside for the final stage.
“It feels great” said van Aert after the stage. “We’ve had such an amazing week as a team, starting off with five stage wins in a row, It’s pretty incredible. From then on it was a lot of pressure on us in this race, but we managed to control every stage basically. So we’re super proud, especially to finish off that teamwork.
“It was a super tough stage with the course this year, the weekend was really decisive and we went really all in for the GC. Today the climbs were a bit longer which is tricky for me especially compared with riders like Rodriguez and [Stevie] Williams who are 20kg lighter than me. I had to stay calm and trust my teammates. I really had to think a lot in that final.”
Attacks came from the start proper and a breakaway of six riders; Pinarello King of the Mountains James Fouche, breakaway extraordinaire Abram Stockman (TDT – Unibet) Ollie Wood (Great Britain), Casper Van Uden (Team dsm firmenrich), Max Walker (TRINITY Racing) and Johan Meens (Bingoal WB) went clear after 10 kilometres.
Fouche summited the first category Pinarello King of the Mountains climb of Rhigos in the lead and extended his lead in the classification, ending the day with a 19-point lead over stage winner Rodriguez.
The fireworks began on the Bryn Du climb above Aberdare when INEOS Grenadiers set a furious pace, decimating the peloton and isolating van Aert from his teammates.
Rodriguez attacked mid-way up the climb, the Spanish rider taking Stephen Williams (Great Britain) with him over the top of Bryn Du and building a solid advantage on the climb through St Gwynno Forest.
Movistar and Jumbo-Visma organised and took charge on the front of the group in chase of the two breakaway riders at 32.5km to go with the break at 1:25 ahead, but with the flat run in to Caerphilly the advantage rapidly decreased to 10 seconds on the first ascent of Caerphilly Mountain.
That first climb saw Williams distanced by Rodriguez before being swallowed up by the chasers with attacks from riders in the second group eating into the INEOS rider’s advantage particularly on the run back through Caerphilly to the base of the climb.
More attacks came from the chase group including an acceleration from van Aert at five kilometres to go, but none would ever completely close the gap on Rodriguez who finished alone in the shadow of Caerphilly castle with an 11-second advantage.
“The plan was to go on the climb with 50km to go and to force the other teams to chase,” said Rodriguez. “We had Magnus [Sheffield] in a good position so that he just had to follow the wheels and eventually I could get the victory.
“Losing Tom [Pidcock] was a big setback for us but we had to keep trying and keep believing. We have a good team and we had to try win the GC or the stage.”
Commenting on the Welsh stage of the Tour of Britain Deputy Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Dawn Bowden, said: “I’m delighted that we’ve been able to welcome the Tour of Britain back again this year and particularly for a fantastic final stage. Wales’ credentials for hosting cycling events is now well-established.
“The Tour of Britain and Women’s Tour are the perfect showcase for our landscape as well as the welcome we provide to the competitors and spectators. Congratulations to Wout van Aert and to all involved in organising the event. I hope that seeing some of the world’s best riders over the past week has inspired people to get active and explore Wales on their bikes.”
Van Aert’s Jumbo – Visma teammate Olav Kooij took the cottages.com points jersey thanks to his run of four stage wins at the start of the week while compatriot Abram Stockman (TDT – Unibet) took the overall Sportsbreaks.com Combativity Award for the race.
Top Brit was Mark Donovan (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) in fifth place overall, narrowly ahead of Saint Piran’s Zeb Kyffin. Donovan was also on the Caerphilly podium with his teammates for taking the Team Classification.
STAGE WINNER 12 RODRIGUEZ CANO Carlos INEOS GRENADIERS
BEST BRITISH RIDER 111 DONOVAN Mark Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM
BEST TEAM Q36 Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM
DAILY COMBATIVITY AWARD Sportsbreak.com 36 WILLIAMS Stephen GREAT BRITAIN
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION 71 VAN AERT Wout JUMBO-VISMA
POINTS CLASSIFICATION 74 KOOIJ Olav JUMBO-VISMA
KING OF THE MOUNTAINS 53 FOUCHE James BOLTON EQUITIES BLACK SPOKE
BEST YOUNG RIDER CLASSIFICATION 15 SHEFFIELD Magnus INEOS GRENADIERS
TEAM CLASSIFICATION Q36 Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM
BEST BRITISH RIDER CLASSIFICATION 111 DONOVAN Mark Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM
COMBATIVITY AWARD OVERALL Sportsbreak.com 125 STOCKMAN Abram TDT-UNIBET
Final General Classification
1 71 VAN AERT Wout TJV BEL 28h43’57” +00
2 154 JOHANNESSEN Tobias Halland UXT NOR 28h44’00” +03″
3 112 HOWSON Damien Q36 AUS ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
4 15 *SHEFFIELD Magnus IGD USA ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
5 111 DONOVAN Mark Q36 GBR 28h44’20” +23″
6 94 KYFFIN Zeb SPC GBR ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
7 5 MUHLBERGER Gregor MOV AUT ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
8 131 BONNEU Kamiel TFB BEL ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
9 43 POLITT Nils BOH GER 28h44’25” +28″
10 12 *RODRIGUEZ CANO Carlos IGD ESP ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
SATURDAY 9 SEPTEMBER 2023
WOUT VAN AERT DENIED BY RASMUS TILLER IN DRAMATIC GLOUCESTER FINALE
Race leader Wout van Aert was denied the chance of becoming the Tour of Britain champion-elect as Uno-X Pro Cycling Team’s Rasmus Tiller took victory in Gloucester on Saturday.
Van Aert attacked three times in the final 30 kilometres on the roads into the historic city, the last of which ended when a reduced peloton caught him within 850 metres of the finish line by Gloucester Docks.
Norwegian rider Tiller benefited from a good lead-out from team-mate and compatriot Tobias Johannessen to win from the 13-man group who came into the finish together.
Tiller said: “It feels really good. We have tried [to win every stage here with the two sprinters we have on the team but we knew today was going to be a different race with a smaller [front] group. That suited me better. Tobias did a really good lead-out and it was just for me to sprint for the win.”
“When Wout [van Aert] has a small gap, you know it’s going to be difficult to bring him back. We managed to ride well together, and, in the end, we caught him. Then Tobias did a good lead-out, so I’m happy I had the legs to finish it off.”
The Tour of Britain’s first full stage in Gloucestershire was marked by a flurry of attacks, which put van Aert’s Jumbo – Visma team under pressure on the first Pinarello king of the mountains climb at Winchcombe Hill. It was here that INEOS Grenadiers rider Ben Turner jumped clear of the peloton and was quickly followed by Cumbrian Mark Donovan (Q36.5 Pro Cycling).
Just when it appeared that a chasing trio of Abram Stockman (TDT – Unibet Cycling Team), Liam Johnston (TRINITY Racing), and Alex Richardson (Saint Piran) were going to be stuck in no man’s land, the leading duo waited for them. The quintet soon gained a three-minute advantage over the peloton.
Van Aert’s first attack of the day came on Crawley Hill, the second Pinarello king of the mountain climb, with a little over 25 kilometres remaining. This whittled the peloton down significantly, but left him short of Jumbo – Visma team-mates for company. His next acceleration of note came on an uncategorised ramp near Painswick, to which nobody initially responded. Within seconds he bridged across to Turner and Donovan, the two survivors from the early breakaway.
Impressively, Great Britain rider Stevie Williams was able to join the leaders, before an equally mighty performance saw stage six winner Danny van Poppel (BORA – hansgrohe), reigning Tour of Britain champion Gonzalo Serrano (Movistar Team), and Zeb Kyffin (Saint Piran) bridge the gap.
Undeterred by the everybody-against-van Aert status in the race, the Belgian launched another acceleration 4.3 kilometres outside of historic Gloucester and initially looked like he was about all-but seal this year’s overall victory. However, Tiller and Johannessen, together with Nils Politt (BORA – hansgrohe) worked well to close the gap and reel the Jumbo – Visma rider back shortly after the flamme rouge.
Pollit opened up the sprint for van Poppel, but Johannessen and Tiller were ready to pounce, with the stage winner launching his successful sprint around with 100 metres to go.
Van Aert said: “Today I overestimated the course a bit. It was quite tough in the final and there were some fast guys who could hang on. Tomorrow we will see an even smaller group [at the finish.“I thought attack was the best form of defence, so that’s what I did. Unfortunately, I isolated myself with guys on my wheel who wouldn’t cooperate – that was a bit of a mistake.
“My team-mates have done a terrific job the whole week, so it’s quite normal that we don’t get any help from the others I’m still proud of them and hopefully they can hold on for one more day and I can pay them back with a nice GC victory.”
STAGE WINNER 155 TILLER Rasmus UNO-X PRO CYCLING TEAM
BEST BRITISH RIDER 111 DONOVAN Mark Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM
BEST TEAM UXT UNO-X PRO CYCLING TEAM
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION 71 VAN AERT Wout JUMBO-VISMA
POINTS CLASSIFICATION 74 KOOIJ Olav JUMBO-VISMA
KING OF THE MOUNTAINS 53 FOUCHE James BOLTON EQUITIES BLACK SPOKE
BEST YOUNG RIDER CLASSIFICATION 15 SHEFFIELD Magnus INEOS GRENADIERS
TEAM CLASSIFICATION UXT UNO-X PRO CYCLING TEAM
BEST BRITISH RIDER CLASSIFICATION 111 DONOVAN Mark Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM
The final stage of the 2023 Tour of Britain is hosted by the Welsh Government and takes place between Margam Country Park and Caerphilly, featuring a 166-kilometre route including some of south Wales’ toughest climbs. The stage begins at 11:15.
FRIDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 2023
DANNY VAN POPPEL ENDS JUMBO – VISMA’S DOMINANCE AS HE WINS IN HARLOW
BORA – hansgrohe’s Danny van Poppel ended Jumbo – Visma’s dominance of the Tour of Britain 2023 as he sprinted to win stage six in Harlow on Friday by the narrowest of margins.
A year to the day since the German team’s last victory in the UK’s leading cycle race, courtesy of Jordi Meeus in Mansfield, van Poppel timed his kick perfectly to pip British rider Ethan Vernon a tyre-width along Third Avenue. Tord Gudmestad (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team) finished third, with four-time stage winner Olav Kooij in fourth.
Although their 100% record of stage victories in the race ended in the Essex town, Jumbo – Visma’s Wout van Aert crossed the line in 17th place to retain the overall lead.
Van Poppel said: “The team has given me a lot of trust and I think that’s really important for the sprint. I knew it was a hard finish and you also need some luck, of course. There was space to go through and I took the chance. I know [my] timings and I know I can do it really well; I think I did the perfect jump to win the race today.”
“I always fight for the win but I know it’s hard to beat the big riders like [those] in Jumbo [- Visma] but today I did it. It’s really cool.”
Stage six, the second of the race’s Eastern England doubleheader, rolled out from Southend’s Western Esplanade in the shadow of the city’s historic pier.
It took just two kilometres for three riders to go clear and form the stage’s first breakaway, although the time the trio of Kamil Malecki (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) and TDT – Unibet Cycling Team’s Joren Boem and Abram Stockman were to have outfront was clearly numbered when Alex Coleman (Team Flanders-Baloise) bridged across to them approaching the cottages.com sprint at Burnham-on-Crouch at 50.4 kilometres.
After a frantic 30 minutes, Saint Piran seized the initiative, as newly-crowned track world champion Will Tidball took his chance and attacked with 90 kilometres remaining.
This move got the attention of Danny van der Tuuk (Equipo Kern Pharma), Stockman and team-mate Hartthijs De Vries, and a second Saint Piran rider in Jack Rootkin-Gray.
Their momentum was hindered by a number of punctures, which affected van der Tuuk and Tidball’s day. Eventually, only the TDT – Unibet Cycling Team duo were left at the front of the race; the peloton reeled them in shortly after passing through North Weald Bassett with 14 kilometres to go.
A late attack from Belgian rider Dimitri Peyskens (Bingoal WB) proved unsuccessful, following which INEOS Grenadiers and then Jumbo – Visma took turns to showcase themselves at the head of the bunch.
Van Poppel and Vernon (Great Britain) were in prime position to launch their attacks on the finishing straight, sitting in fifth and third wheel respectively, when Uno-X Pro Cycling Team’s Tord Gudmestad kicked off the battle for the line. The pair approached the finish together shoulder to shoulder, with van Poppel denying Vernon the opportunity to become the first British stage winner since Ethan Haytor in Warrington two years ago by one of the smallest margins in race history.
Van Aert retained the leader’s jersey with his three-second lead intact, while team-mate Kooij still tops the cottages.com points and Sportive Breaks best young riders classifications. James Fouche’s lead in the Pinarello king of the mountains is still catchable as the race heads to Gloucestershire for the first of two undulating stages on Saturday.
“Obviously I’m happy that I’m still in the leader’s jersey,” said van Aert. “You could see we wanted more today – we wanted the stage again with Olav – but we didn’t succeed. It’s a good reminder that it’s not so easy to win the race.
“Tomorrow I’ll stay calm for as long as possible because there will be attacks from everywhere. Three seconds is still nothing, everybody is a threat for GC, and I’m curious to see how the race will unfold.”
STAGE WINNER 46 VAN POPPEL Danny BORA – HANSGROHE
BEST BRITISH RIDER 31 VERNON Ethan GREAT BRITAIN
BEST TEAM UXT UNO-X PRO CYCLING TEAM
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION 71 VAN AERT Wout JUMBO-VISMA
POINTS CLASSIFICATION 74 KOOIJ Olav JUMBO-VISMA
KING OF THE MOUNTAINS 53 FOUCHE James BOLTON EQUITIES BLACK SPOKE
BEST YOUNG RIDER CLASSIFICATION 74 KOOIJ Olav JUMBO-VISMA TEAM CLASSIFICATION
UXT UNO-X PRO CYCLING TEAM
BEST BRITISH RIDER CLASSIFICATION 31 VERNON Ethan GREAT BRITAIN
Stage seven of the Tour of Britain takes place in Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire between Tewkesbury and Gloucester. The stage begins at 11:00.
THURSDAY 7 SEPTEMBER 2023
WOUT VAN AERT SOLOS TO MEMORABLE TOUR OF BRITAIN STAGE WIN
Former champion Wout van Aert soloed to an unforgettable Tour of Britain stage victory in Felixstowe on Thursday to move into the race lead with just three days of this year’s race remaining.
Just as another bunch sprint and a record-breaking win for his Jumbo – Visma team-mate Olav Kooij looked inevitable, van Aert sprung clear with 900 metres remaining and caught his GC rivals napping.
Despite a headwind finish along Felixstowe’s sun-drenched Sea Road, the Belgian star somehow held on to win by three seconds and usurp Kooij from the top of the overall standings.
Great Britain’s Ethan Vernon won the bunch sprint for second, narrowly ahead of BORA – hansgrohe’s Danny van Poppel.
Van Aert said: “It wasn’t planned way before, but it came up yesterday evening. It’s just nice to try something different if you can. In the previous stages, we saw teams trying to get on our wheels going into the final bends. You can see from the footage from yesterday there were 10 riders on Olav’s wheel not wanting to spend their bullets at one kilometre to go, so we took it as a chance. Even if it didn’t work, the bunch sprint was still there for Olav to do.”
“I think it’s up to the others to try and chase us now, especially now I have a few seconds in the lead, but we still want the overall.”
A five-man break led as the race headed towards the Orwell Bridge but were caught by the pack on the approach to the day’s first Pinarello king of the mountains climb at Freston. Nonetheless, competition leader James Fouche – who was part of the quintet – made sure he was on the front of the peloton to take maximum points over the top.
The main breakaway of the day finally went clear with 160 kilometres remaining. TDT – Unibet Cycling Team kept up their 100% record of breakaway appearances thus far as they sent Abram Stockman into the group. He was joined by Callum Ormiston (Global 6 Cycling) and Joey Rosskopf (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team).
They held firm until 20 kilometers to go, when Ormiston was first to be dropped. Stockman was next to fall short, while Rosskopf battled heroically but was reeled in by the peloton shortly before the cranes at Felixstowe Docks came into view.
Predictably, Jumbo – Visma took control of proceedings, with Nathan Van Hooydonck and Edoardo Affini setting the pace. Just when it appeared that van Aert would lead the pack around two left-hand turns onto the promenade, he sprung the most unexpected of surprises.
His victory means he now leads by three seconds, while team-mate Kooij remains in both the cottages.com points and the Sportive Breaks best young rider jerseys. Fouché’s points haul today further solidified his lead in the Pinarello king of the mountains standings.
STAGE WINNER 71 VAN AERT Wout JUMBO-VISMA
BEST BRITISH RIDER 31 VERNON Ethan GREAT BRITAIN
BEST TEAM BWB BINGOAL WB
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION 71 VAN AERT Wout JUMBO-VISMA
POINTS CLASSIFICATION 74 KOOIJ Olav JUMBO-VISMA
KING OF THE MOUNTAINS 53 FOUCHE James BOLTON EQUITIES BLACK SPOKE
BEST YOUNG RIDER CLASSIFICATION 74 KOOIJ Olav JUMBO-VISMA
TEAM CLASSIFICATION UXT UNO-X PRO CYCLING TEAM
BEST BRITISH RIDER CLASSIFICATION 31 VERNON Ethan GREAT BRITAIN
Stage six of the Tour of Britain covers 146 kilometres through Essex from the start on Southend-on-Sea’s seafront to the finish on Harlow’s Third Avenue. The stage begins at 11:45
WEDNESDAY 6 SEPTEMBER 2023
JUMBO VISMA AND KOOJ AGAIN AS TOUR OF BRITAIN ARRIVES IN NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
Olav Kooij equalled Edvald Boasson Hagen’s record of four-consecutive Tour of Britain stage victories after winning stage four of the 2023 race in Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, on Wednesday.
The Dutchman once again benefited from a brilliant lead-out from his Jumbo – Visma team-mate Wout van Aert after the likes of TRINITY Racing, BORA – hansgrohe, and INEOS Grenadiers attempted to form their own trains approaching the historic town’s finish line.
Casper van Uden (Team dsm – firmenich) placed second, with Ethan Vernon continuing his consistent week by placing third.
Unsurprisingly, Kooij continues to lead the race’s general classification and tops the standings in the cottages.com points and Sportive Breaks best young rider competitions.
A bunch sprint was always on the cards after two TDT – Unibet Cycling Team riders – Brit Harry Tanfield and Belgian Abram Stockman – were caught 27.5 kilometres outside of Newark-on-Trent.
Kooij said; “We’re just going day by day and it’s been amazing so far. The hat trick was already special and now four out of four is amazing.” He continues “I’m really happy with what we’ve done so far and I hope to keep it going.”
Jumbo-Visma started to lose position at the three-kilometre mark but he always trusted his team to get him back into perfect position. “The guys in front of me are strong enough to move through the wind and move up if it’s necessary. It’s never really smooth to get through the last few hundred metres, so sometimes you need to stay calm and know when it’s your time to move up. If we stay together, it’s a big advantage”
Stockman (TDT – Unibet) and Pinarello King of the Mountains leader James Fouche (Bolton Equities Black Spoke) attacked from the official start with Stockman’s teammate Harry Tanfield joining the duo one-kilometre later.
Tanfield and Fouche make this day number three in the break so far after spending most of stage one and three out the front together, and TDT – Unibet keeping up their appearances of being in a breakaway of every stage of this year’s Tour of Britain.
As expected Fouche took maximum points at the first classified climb on Kilton Hill. Shortly after Tanfield rolled through to victory at the cottages.com intermediate sprint in Broughton.
Fouche extended his lead in the Pinarello King of the Mountains classification by being the summit of the second classified climb at Red Hill Lane. The Kiwi decided his race was over after collecting his points, sat up and retreated back to the peloton, leaving the duo of TDT – Unibet riders ahead with 80-kilometres left.
The duo kept the gap between themselves and the peloton at around the minute mark until the break was eventually caught at the 27km mark, when Dimitri Peyskens (Bingoal WB) and Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo Visma) attacked from the peloton to end the duo’s hopes.
TRINITY and INEOS were the biggest antagonists of the bunch, pushing the pace in the peloton, but it was Jumbo Visma once again who took control into the final right-hand corner with a perfectly drilled lead out.
Super domestique turned super lead out man Wout Van Aert led out his sprinter from 700 metres to go, the Belgian peeled away at 150 metres to go with his sprinter in perfect position to power to victory and make it four from four.
STAGE WINNER 74 KOOIJ Olav JUMBO-VISMA
BEST BRITISH RIDER 31 VERNON Ethan GREAT BRITAIN
BEST TEAM UXT UNO-X PRO CYCLING TEAM
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION 74 KOOIJ Olav JUMBO-VISMA
POINTS CLASSIFICATION 74 KOOIJ Olav JUMBO-VISMA
KING OF THE MOUNTAINS 53 FOUCHE James BOLTON EQUITIES BLACK SPOKE
BEST YOUNG RIDER CLASSIFICATION 74 KOOIJ Olav JUMBO-VISMA
TEAM CLASSIFICATION UXT UNO-X PRO CYCLING TEAM
BEST BRITISH RIDER CLASSIFICATION 31 VERNON Ethan GREAT BRITAIN
Stage five of the Tour of Britain sees the race return to Suffolk for the first time since 2017. Felixstowe will host both the start and finish of the longest stage of the 2023 Tour at 192 kilometres. The stage begins at 10:45
TUESDAY 5 SEPTEMBER 2023
THREE OUT OF THREE FOR OLAV KOOIJ AFTER THRILLING EAST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE STAGE
Olav Kooij became only the second rider in modern Tour of Britain history to claim three-consecutive stage victories after completing his hat-trick in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire, on Tuesday.
Kooij was run closer than at any other point to date in the race, but he held off fast finishes from Danny van Poppel (BORA – hansgrohe) and Ethan Vernon (Great Britain) to win outside of the Yorkshire town’s racecourse.
In doing so he matched Edvald Boasson Hagen’s feat from the 2009 race of winning a trio of stages in a row (the Norwegian went on to win four consecutively), albeit the Jumbo – Visma rider has made his own piece of history by the fact he has triumphed in every stage of the Tour in which he has competed to date.
The stage kicked into life inside the final 40 kilometres, following a three-man attack by Saint Piran’s Alex Richardson, Harry Birchill and Jack Rootkin-Gray. The trio quickly bridged to the Harry Tanfield (TDT – Unibet Cycling Team) and Nico Sessler (Global 6 Cycling), the remainder of the day’s three-man breakaway, which forced Kooij’s Jumbo – Visma team into life.
Kooij said: “It’s pretty special to win three stages in a row. You never get used to winning so it was nice to do so again. After the last two days we knew it was up to us to control. We tried to split it once we hit the coast but the wind wasn’t strong enough and then we had a really tough job bringing back the final couple of guys. But, in the end, we managed to make it a hat-trick.”
Today’s stage, which started in Goole, was sponsored by trade kitchen experts Howdens and passed by their manufacturing site inside the opening 10 kilometres. By that time, the day’s three-man breakaway had formed. Instigated by Nicolas Sessler (Global 6 Cycling), he was quickly joined by Pinarello king of the mountains leader James Fouché (Bolton Equities Black Spoke) and TDT-Unibet’s Harry Tanfield.
The three breakaway riders went into the base of the first categorised climb at Towthorpe Lane with three minutes on the chasing peloton. Fouché (Bolton Equities Black Spoke) took maximum points there, and over the top of the second hill at Langtoft, to further extend his lead in the mountains classification.
As the riders entered the seaside town of Bridlington, the trio’s advantage was just 30 seconds, but they stayed clear long enough for Tanfield to roll through the cottages.com sprint at Skipsea first. Fouché decided his day was done at this point; he sat up and was the first to be caught by the peloton with 42 kilometres remaining.
But far from that being the start of a regulation final hour of racing, it was actually where the stage took on a whole new life. Saint Piran tried their hand with a pre-planned attack, which forced Jumbo – Visma into using the energy of Tour de France podium finisher Steven Kruijswijk and Jos van Emden to pull back.
Saint Piran’s audacious, but ultimately unsuccessful, move seemed to get everyone’s tails up. INEOS Grenadiers sent Ben Turner and then Luke Rowe on the attack approximately 25 kilometres out from the finish. After those bids failed, Connor Swift made his move and was joined by eight riders, including reigning champion Gonzalo Serrano (Movistar Team), Rasmus Tiller (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team, Nathan Van Hooydonck (Jumbo – Visma), Nils Politt (BORA – hansgrohe), and British duo Matthew Bostock and Jacob Scott (Bolton Equities Black Spoke) German rider Politt, who narrowly missed out on winning in Mansfield during the 2018 race, split the breakaway alongside Bostock as the race passed through Long Riston. The pair held a 30-second gap until Jumbo – Visma, TRINITY Racing, and Movistar Team took up control at the head of the peloton and chased them back.
Bostock’s resistance was last to be broken, but once he was reeled in with six kilometres remaining, the outcome of the stage seemed all but inevitable.
Former Tour of Britain stage winner Edoardo Affini peeled off on the long drag up to Beverley Racecourse, before super domestique Wout van Aert placed Kooij in to a perfect position with 300 metres to go.
Kooij’s compatriot van Poppel at one point looked like he’d take the victory for the Netherlands, but couldn’t quite find the second burst to do so. Victory further extends Kooij’s lead in the cottages.com points classification, and he also continues to top the Sportive Breaks best young rider standings.
STAGE WINNER 74 KOOIJ Olav JUMBO-VISMA
BEST BRITISH RIDER 31 VERNON Ethan GREAT BRITAIN
BEST TEAM TRINITY RACING
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION 74 KOOIJ Olav JUMBO-VISMA
POINTS CLASSIFICATION 74 KOOIJ Olav JUMBO-VISMA
KING OF THE MOUNTAINS 53 FOUCHE James BOLTON EQUITIES BLACK SPOKE
BEST YOUNG RIDER CLASSIFICATION 74 KOOIJ Olav JUMBO-VISMA
TEAM CLASSIFICATION UXT UNO-X PRO CYCLING TEAM
BEST BRITISH RIDER CLASSIFICATION 31 VERNON Ethan GREAT BRITAIN
Stage four of the Tour of Britain sees the race return to Nottinghamshire for a 166-kilometre leg from the Sherwood Forest visitor centre to Newark-on-Trent. The stage begins at 11:15
MONDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2023
OLAV KOOIJ DOUBLES UP IN WREXHAM AS JUMBO VISMA CONTINUE TOUR DOMINATION
Dutchman Olav Kooij became the first rider in four years to win back-to-back stages of the Tour of Britain as he took his second victory in as many days in Wrexham on Monday.
Kooij was once again the beneficiary of a perfect Jumbo – Visma lead-out, although BORA – hansgrohe’s Danny van Poppel pipped Wout van Aert into second and deny the all-conquering team consecutive one-twos.
Victory means Kooij emulates what Mathieu van der Poel did on the final two days of the 2019 race, and also retains the overall race lead going into stage three in East Riding of Yorkshire on Tuesday.
He said: “We went again for another win today – we took control and tried to catch the break which took a huge effort by two of our guys. We went into the last kilometre in a really good position again and were able to take the second win.
“We came here for stages and a possible GC [bid] with Wout, so we are really happy and hopefully we can continue like this. We’re looking day by day and there are a few more opportunities. We’ll see if we can control the other days or change it up a bit and see what we can do looking forward to GC so there’s plenty more chances to come, I guess.”
After moving to within two of van Aert’s win tally in the 2021 edition, Koiij said of his chances of claiming a quartet of wins: “we will see, maybe we can talk about it in the room tonight!”
Ninety-five riders started the 109.9-kilometre clockwise loop from Chester Street in Wrexham under a blanket of 25°C heat, across the border into Cheshire and back to the start and finish line in Wrexham’s bustling city centre.
It didn’t take long for three riders to breakaway: Jacob Scott (Bolton Equities Black Spoke), Abram Stockman (TDT – Unibet Cycling Team), and Finn Crockett (Saint Piran) went clear after three kilometres, before Callum Ormiston (Global 6 Cycling) made a monumental effort to bridge the gap and join them at the five-kilometre mark.
The peloton kept the quartet on a short leas, with the gap between themselves and the riders ahead plateauing around 30 seconds for the majority of the stage. Crockett led the breakaway into the base of the first Pinarello king of the mountains climb at Eyton, upon which competition leader and Scott’s team-mate James Fouche tried to bridge the gap across to them. He timed his attack slightly too late, allowing Crockett to take maximum points.
Three kilometres later Stockman rolled through first at cottages.com sprint at Johnstown, but by now it was just him and Crockett clear. They were caught by the peloton with 12.6 kilometres remaining.
Jumbo – Visma’s Edoardo Affini took control at the front of the race with two kilometres to go, setting a blistering pace with van Aert behind. The 2021 Tour of Britain champion then perfectly placed Kooij to launch his sprint with just 100 metres to the finish line.
Victory means that Kooij also retained the lead in the cottages.com points and the Sportive Breaks best young rider classifications.
STAGE WINNER 74 KOOIJ Olav JUMBO-VISMA
BEST BRITISH RIDER 31 VERNON Ethan GREAT BRITAIN
BEST TEAM UXT UNO-X PRO CYCLING TEAM
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION 74 KOOIJ Olav JUMBO-VISMA
POINTS CLASSIFICATION 74 KOOIJ Olav JUMBO-VISMA
KING OF THE MOUNTAINS 53 FOUCHE James BOLTON EQUITIES BLACK SPOKE
BEST YOUNG RIDER CLASSIFICATION 74 KOOIJ Olav JUMBO-VISMA
TEAM CLASSIFICATION UXT UNO-X PRO CYCLING TEAM
BEST BRITISH RIDER CLASSIFICATION 31 VERNON Ethan GREAT BRITAIN
Stage three of the Tour of Britain sees the race return to the East Riding of Yorkshire for the first time in more than a decade. The Howdens’ Goole to Beverley stage covers just under 155 kilometres with the finish alongside Beverley racecourse. The stage begins at 11:30
SUNDAY 3 SEPTEMBER 2023
OLAV KOOIJ WINS TOUR OF BRITAIN OPENER IN MANCHESTER
Jumbo – Visma were a class apart as Olav Kooij sprinted to win the opening stage of the Tour of Britain 2023 in front of a packed crowd on Deansgate in Manchester.
Kooij led home a one-two for the Dutch team ahead of Wout van Aert, with Sam Bennett (BORA – hansgrohe) the best of the rest in third, after Jumbo – Visma and INEOS Grenadiers ensured that the finish was contested by a large peloton.
The Dutchman will wear the leader’s jersey in Monday’s second stage in and around Wrexham, the first of two in this year’s race to take place in Wales.
Kooij said: “It was actually quite a hard day, but really nice with all the fans out on the road. In the end, we managed to catch the break after the guys did a really good job pulling on the front. We got it right into the last kilometre, and then [we were] first and second into the last corner. After that we had to go full gas to the line.
“I’m really happy to start the race with a win. We made a lot of plans for the lead-out throughout the year but it doesn’t come together that many times. To get it right after such a good job from the whole team makes the victory even nicer.”
Blessed by beautiful sunshine, an estimated 500,000 spectators lined the 163.6-kilometre route from Altrincham.
It didn’t take long for riders to take a chance and break clear of the peloton. James Fouché (Bolton Equities Black Spoke) escaped within the opening six kilometres, and by the 10-kilometre mark he had company in the form of Harry Tanfield (TDT-Unibet Cycling Team), Fredrik Dversnes (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team) and team-mates Zeb Kyffin and Jack Rootkin-Gray (Saint Piran).
Tanfield took maximum points at the cottages.com sprint at Hazel Grove, before Fouché was first to the summit of the two Pinarello king of the mountains climbs at Grains Bar (second category) and Ramsbottom Rake (first category), which gives him the lead in the competition after stage one.
The quintet only had a two-minute lead on the chasing peloton at the bottom of the packed Ramsbottom Rake, as Jumbo – Visma and INEOS Grenadiers continued to control the pace behind.
Tanfield was dropped from the break with 51 kilometres remaining, then four kilometres later Fouché decided his day was done and also sat up. Last to be caught was Dversnes, who survived until 1,500 metres out from Deansgate, before his chances of a memorable victory were banished.
Jumbo – Visma took charge on the final run into the line and ominously showed signs of a perfectly-drilled lead-out operation. Van Aert arguably could have claimed the victory himself, but dropped back into Kooij’s wheel to allow the Dutchman to mark his Tour of Britain debut in style and claim the 23rd victory of his career.
STAGE WINNER 74 KOOIJ Olav JUMBO-VISMA
BEST BRITISH RIDER 31 VERNON Ethan GREAT BRITAIN
BEST TEAM UXT UNO-X PRO CYCLING TEAM
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION 74 KOOIJ Olav JUMBO-VISMA
POINTS CLASSIFICATION 74 KOOIJ Olav JUMBO-VISMA
KING OF THE MOUNTAINS 53 FOUCHE James BOLTON EQUITIES BLACK SPOKE
BEST YOUNG RIDER CLASSIFICATION 74 KOOIJ Olav JUMBO-VISMA
TEAM CLASSIFICATION UXT UNO-X PRO CYCLING TEAM
BEST BRITISH RIDER CLASSIFICATION 31 VERNON Ethan GREAT BRITAIN
Stage two of the Tour of Britain starts and finishes in Wrexham on Monday 4 September with a 110-kilometre route starting and finishing on Chester Street in the city. The stage begins at 11:45.
About the Tour of Britain Stages
Stage one Sunday 3 September Altrincham to Manchester
Stage two Monday 4 September Wrexham to Wrexham
Stage three Tuesday 5 September Goole to Beverley
Stage four Wednesday 6 September Sherwood Forest to Newark-on-Trent
Stage five Thursday 7 September Felixstowe to Felixstowe
Stage six Friday 8 September Southend-on-Sea to Harlow
Stage seven Saturday 9 September Tewkesbury to Gloucester
Stage eight Sunday 10 September Margam Country Park to Caerphilly
