Cesare Benedetti sprints to fifth place in the final stage of the Tour of Britain
The final stage of the Tour of Britain started south of London in Reigate and ended roughly 148 km later in Guildford. Marc Cavendish (Sky) was able to win out in the stage, relegating Boy van Poppel (United Healthcare) and Fabio Sabatini (Liquigas) to second and third place, respectively. In the difficult final part of the race, Cesare Benedetti sprinted to an outstanding fifth-place finish.
Jonathan Tiernan-Locke (Endura Racing) won the general classification for the Tour. Bartosz Huzarski of Team NetApp ended the Tour in sixth place.
In the final stage of the Tour of Britain several riders again managed to break away early on, but the four riders were only able to extend their lead to two minutes. During the final mountain classification of the Tour, 45 kilometers before the finish line, Team NetApp significantly picked up the pace in the field. This not only caught up with the breakaway riders, but also split the peloton into several groups. The lead group with nine riders, including the contenders for the general classification and Team NetApp's Leopold König and Bartosz Huzarski, was unfortunately unable to clearly set itself apart. Team Sky took over the chase in the peloton to lead to a mass sprint and go into the last kilometers as a tight group.
"We tried to make the race difficult on the last climb today and provoke a decision by dividing the field. It was an excellent team effort, but unfortunately the group around Leo could not claim the lead. The final part of the race was very difficult because of the incline and the cobblestones. For this reason, Cesare's outstanding fifth-place finish should be valued all the more," Enrico Poitschke said after the race.
"Overall, we are pleased with the outcome of the tour. Leo's stage victory and Bartosz's sixth-place finish in the general classification are the result of good teamwork over the last few days. Some riders will now be riding in world championship races before our last races of the season in early October," Poitschke continued.
