Mathieu Van Der Poel Takes the Lead at the Tour of Britain
The cyclocross star is shining on the road
Mathieu van der Poel took over as the Tour of Britain’s overall leader after winning Tuesday’s fourth stage from Gateshead to Kendal. The Dutchman who rides for Corendon-Circus made his move on a sharp rise in the closing stages of the 173.2 kilometer stage.
He tracked the three-rider breakaway before blowing away the rest of the reduced field, with Jasper De Buyst (Lotto-Soudal) and Simon Clarke (EF Education First) following him home and completing the podium. Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott) finished in ninth place and conceded his race lead. Van der Poel is ahead by a second.
“It was a bit of gamble because I didn’t really know where the finish line was,” Van der Poel said of his push to the finish line.
“I got bumped in yesterday and I didn’t want that to happen again today, so I went full gas 300 meters to go. It was a bit far but got I got a gap and the final 100 meters were a bit easier.
“It’s really nice to win this stage. It was a really, really hard stage, with lots of climbing.”
RBA/AFP
Photos: Bettini
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