Remco Evenepoel Strikes with Powerful Sprint in Queen Stage of Tour of Britain

The breakaway of the day included two Belgians, Frederik Frison (Q36.5) and Victor Vercouille (Flanders-Baloise). They were accompanied by Patrick Boje Frydkjaer (Lidl-Trek), Henrik Pedersen (Uno-X Mobility), Noa Isadore (Decathlon AG2r), Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto), Rafael Reis (Anicolor/Tien 21), Finlay Tarling (Israel-Premier Tech), and Axel Huens (Unibet Tietema Rockets). In the peloton, Groupama-FDJ, the team of leader Romain Grégoire, controlled the race.

Evenepoel’s Tweak
The nine leaders never got much leeway, and most of them would be caught on the first ascent of The Tumble. On that climb, Soudal Quick-Step initially took the initiative, after which Remco Evenepoel delivered a little jab. However, the double Olympic champion did not follow through on his attack. Groupama-FDJ then took over again, and with a reduced peloton, the favorites crested the summit.

Reis was the first over the same summit, accompanied by Isadore. On the descent, Frison and Frydkjaer managed to return, but not long after, the group of favorites also regrouped. After this regrouping, Hartthijs de Vries (Unibet Tietema Rockets) launched an attack. The rider from Kollum was soon joined by Siebe Deweirdt (Flanders-Baloise), and the two rode together for over a minute. However, at the foot of The Tumble, their lead had already significantly decreased. It was going to be a battle among the favorites on the final climb.

The Tumble
On the first steep sections, De Vries and Deweirdt were indeed reeled back in. INEOS Grenadiers set the pace at this point for Thymen Arensman. The Dutchman launched his attack 3.3 kilometers from the finish. Remco Evenepoel was immediately on his wheel, and many riders behind followed as well. Evenepoel then pushed hard for a moment but did not respond when Afonso Eulálio (Bahrain Victorious) accelerated. He did, however, jump with Oscar Onley, who closed the gap to the Portuguese rider.

The next to attack was Andrew August. The American tried three times, but Evenepoel did not let him go. Then the double Olympic champion himself took the lead. He did so until Pavel Sivakov launched his move with Onley joining him. The Frenchman and the Brit opened a substantial gap, but Eulálio managed to close the gap. Evenepoel then tried to bridge as well, but when he couldn’t, he stopped pedaling. However, the three in front also did not accelerate. Thus, the two groups appeared to merge again.

Evenepoel Finishes It Off
Ilan Van Wilder now took the lead for Evenepoel to close the final small gap. This succeeded just before the start of the last kilometer. Van Wilder then kept the pace high, but August still saw a chance to attack. Yet again, the 19-year-old American could not get away. It would come down to a sprint on The Tumble. Evenepoel launched the sprint from far out but managed to hold his effort to the finish line. Tom Gloag from Visma | Lease a Bike could only stay on his wheel, nothing more. Onley finished in third place.

In the general classification, Evenepoel is now second. Romain Grégoire, who sprinted to fifth place, still leads by two seconds over the Belgian. Julian Alaphilippe is third, with Onley fourth. Sunday awaits a hilly stage to Cardiff. Caerphilly Mountain (1.3 km at 9.6%) will be the key difficulty in this final stage. The summit of the steep climb lies ten kilometers from the finish.