Cees Bol won the gritty fourth stage of the Tour of Britain Men on Saturday, the Decathlon-CMA CGM rider surviving from the day’s break going ahead of Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) in the Yorkshire Dales town of Leyburn.
Former Belgian champion Wellens started the day in second place overall, 12 seconds behind race leader Lewis Askey (NSN), his teammates working hard to set up an attack. That move came over 40km from the line, Wellens attacking from a peloton reduced to just a handful of riders on the day’s final classified climb at Redmire.
Reaching the breakaway close to the top of the tough climb, Wellens collected Bol, the pair building their lead on the plateau and the ensuing descent.
It was far from straightforward for the leading duo though, and the chasing group was within 30 seconds with one kilometre to go. Fabio Christen (Pinarello-Q36.5) broke clear from that chase group to finish third, 21 second behind Bol.
Despite having two teammates and help from other teams for the final run into the finish in the North Yorkshire town of Leyburn, Askey, who won the race’s opening stage on Wednesday meanwhile, finished fifth, 27 seconds behind Wellens.
That place means Askey drops to second drops to second place overall, 21 seconds behind Wellens, with one stage to go.
More to come...
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(Image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
Results
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Stage 4 Top 10
Position
Rider (Country) Team
Time Gap
1
Cees Bol (Ned) Decathlon CMA CGM
4:00:39
2
Tim Wellens (Bel) UAE Team Emirates-XRG
0:00:03
3
Fabio Christen (Swi) Pinarello-Q36.5
0:00:21
4
Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
0:00:30
5
Lewis Askey (GBr) NSN Cycling Team
Row 4 - Cell 2
6
Rick Pluimers (Ned) Tudor Pro Cycling
Row 5 - Cell 2
7
Axel Källberg (Fin) Lucky Sport Cycling Team
Row 6 - Cell 2
8
Matteo Trentin (Ita) Tudor Pro Cycling
Row 7 - Cell 2
9
Elliot Rowe (GBr) Team Visma | Lease A Bike Development
A recent addition to the Cyclingnews staff, Owen Rogers is an experienced journalist, working as a freelancer covering the sport for various magazines and websites for more than 10 years.
Initially concentrating mainly on the women's sport, he has covered hundreds of race days on the ground and interviewed some of the sport's biggest names.
Living near Cambridge in the UK, when he's not working you'll find him either riding his bike or playing drums.
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