Video: Boom and Hampton out to defend Tour of Britain jerseys

Lars Boom (Rabobank) has made it clear he intends to try and keep the overall leader’s jersey at the Tour of Britain after winning stage three in Stoke-on-Trent on Wednesday.

The powerful Dutchman revealed he was actually leading out teammate Michael Matthews in the sprint but the twisting finish and his high speed made it impossible for anyone to get past him.

“It’s nice to win. I think I hadn’t won since the Dauphine. It’s nice in preparation for the worlds,” Boom said in this video of the winner’s press conference. “It’s nice to have the lead too. I’m feeling good, so I’ll try and defend the jersey.”

Boom leads Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad) by just three seconds. He thinks the Briton is on form for the approaching world championships.

“I think he’s in good shape. He looks skinny,” Boom said.

Young British rider Russell Hampton (Sigma Sport – Specialized) is leading the climber’s competition and revealed he and his teammates have studied the next three stages of the Tour of Britain route.

“We’re going to take it day by day but try and keep it,” he said. “Keeping it all the way to our base in London, it’d be great.”

“We’ve looked at the next three stages in training camp a few weeks ago, so we know what’s coming up. We’ll be aggressive and sees what comes of it.”