KENDALL, BALIPOST.com – 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 173.2km 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 metres to go. It was a bit far but got I got a gap and the final 100m was a bit easier.
“It’s really nice to win this stage. It was a really, really hard stage, with lots of climbing.” (AFP)
