Pauwels wins the Tour de Yorkshire with final stage victory

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Serge Pauwels won the third edition of the Tour de Yorkshire, taking victory on the third-and-final stage to cap a fine team display that saw Dimension Data finish with a one-two on the stage and GC through Omar Fraile.

With four short-but-tough climbs in the final 20 kilometres of the run from Bradford to Sheffield, the strongest contenders began to emerge, and Jacques Ranse Van Rensburg (Dimension Data) put the group into difficulty on the Cote de Wigtwizzle, teeing up an attack from Pauwels over the top. The Belgian extended his advantage to half a minute over the climbs of Ewden Height and Midhopestones as Fraile marked moves, disrupted pace and generally gave a textbook demonstration of how to race behind a solo teammate.

So strong was Fraile, he was the only rider in the thinning chase group of eight riders strong enough to make it across to Pauwels after the final climb, and it was almost cruel the way he left them behind and joined up with his teammate inside the final two kilometres.

From there the victory was in the bag, with a lead of around 10 seconds, but the question was which one of them would be taking it. Fraile quickly informed Pauwels he wouldn't be getting in the way, and the two riders raised their arms in unison as they crossed the line.

"Omar has been a fantastic roommate this week, he's a great guy, he basically gave me the victory today. That makes him a great person," said Pauwels in his television interview after the stage.

Jonathan Hivert (Direct Energie) won the dash for third place from the group of seven several seconds later, clinching third overall, one second behind Fraile and seven behind Pauwels, who took 10 bonus seconds for the stage win.

Also in the select group were Brent Bookwallter (BMC Racing), Tao Geoghegan Hart (Team Sky), Maurits Lammertink (LottoNL-Jumbo), Matthew Holmes (Madison Genesis), Mark Christian (Aqua Blue Sport), and Lennard Hofstede (Delko Marseille).

"This was above all a team performance," Pauwels said. "We had Bernie Eisel pulling all day for us, then it was up to me, Jacques, and Omar to be up there in the final. There was a bit of hesitation after the first climb, so I chose the right moment to try and jump, then I had Omar and Jacques doing a fantastic job behind me.

"I didn't know a lot. Once I got 25 seconds I had [directeur sportif] Roger Hammond telling me I wasn't allowed to look behind. I tried to time trial for the last 10 kilometres and I didn't look behind. It was only at the last moment I saw an Enve wheel next to me, but it was only Omar. It's fantastic to get the win with a team performance."

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