Wout Van Aert gave Jumbo-Visma it’s 960th team victory with the Stage 5 win in Felixstowe bring to end teammate Olav Kooij’s run to wins. The Belgian also took over the race lead after her managed to finish 3 seconds clear of the bunch, making it the only thing that didn’t change on the day.
Stage 5 Top 10 and GC
Jumbo-Visma’s ace sprinter made it four from four with the win in Newark-on-Trent, equalling the record for consecutive stage wins set by Edvald Boasson Hagen at the 2009 Tour.
The Dutchman once again benefited from a brilliant lead-out from his Jumbo – Visma team-mate Wout van Aert after the likes of TRINITY Racing, BORA – hansgrohe, and INEOS Grenadiers attempted to form their own trains approaching the historic town’s finish line.
Casper van Uden (Team dsm – firmenich) placed second, with Ethan Vernon (Great Britain) continuing his consistent week by placing third.
Unsurprisingly, Kooij continues to lead the race’s general classification and tops the standings in the cottages.com points and Sportive Breaks best young rider competitions.
A bunch sprint was always on the cards after two TDT – Unibet Cycling Team riders – Brit Harry Tanfield and Belgian Abram Stockman – were caught 27.5 kilometres outside of Newark-on-Trent.
Kooij said; “We’re just going day by day and it’s been amazing so far. The hat trick was already special and now four out of four is amazing.” He continues “I’m really happy with what we’ve done so far and I hope to keep it going.”
Jumbo – Visma started to lose position at the three-kilometre mark but he always trusted his team to get him back into perfect position. “The guys in front of me are strong enough to move through the wind and move up if it’s necessary. It’s never really smooth to get through the last few hundred metres, so sometimes you need to stay calm and know when it’s your time to move up. If we stay together, it’s a big advantage”
Stockman (TDT – Unibet) and Pinarello King of the Mountains leader James Fouche (Bolton Equities Black Spoke) attacked from the official start with Stockman’s teammate Harry Tanfield joining the duo one-kilometre later.
Tanfield and Fouche make this day number three in the break so far after spending most of stage one and three out the front together, and TDT – Unibet keeping up their appearances of being in a breakaway of every stage of this year’s Tour of Britain
As expected Fouche took maximum points at the first classified climb on Kilton Hill. Shortly after Tanfield rolled through to victory at the cottages.com intermediate sprint in Broughton.
Fouche extended his lead in the Pinarello King of the Mountains classification by being the summit of the second classified climb at Red Hill Lane. The Kiwi decided his race was over after collecting his points, sat up and retreated back to the peloton, leaving the duo of TDT – Unibet riders ahead with 80-kilometres left.
The duo kept the gap between themselves and the peloton at around the minute mark until the break was eventually caught at the 27km mark, when Dimitri Peyskens (Bingoal WB) and Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo – Visma) attacked from the peloton to end the duo’s hopes.
TRINITY and INEOS Grenadiers were the biggest antagonists of the bunch, pushing the pace in the peloton, but it was Jumbo – Visma once again who took control into the final right-hand corner with a perfectly drilled lead out.
Super domestique turned super lead out man Wout Van Aert led out his sprinter from 700 metres to go, the Belgian peeled away at 150 metres to go with his sprinter in perfect position to power to victory and make it four from four.
For full results and standings please click here.
Highlights of stage four will be broadcast on ITV4 in the UK at 20:00 on Wednesday 6 September and available on demand via ITVX for 30 days.
Stage five of the Tour of Britain sees the race return to Suffolk for the first time since 2017. Felixstowe will host both the start and finish of the longest stage of the 2023 Tour at 192 kilometres. The stage begins at 10:45 with more details here.
About the Tour of Britain
Stages
Stage one Sunday 3 September Altrincham to Manchester
Stage two Monday 4 September Wrexham to Wrexham
Stage three Tuesday 5 September Goole to Beverley
Stage four Wednesday 6 September Sherwood Forest to Newark-on-Trent
Stage five Thursday 7 September Felixstowe to Felixstowe
Stage six Friday 8 September Southend-on-Sea to Harlow
Stage seven Saturday 9 September Tewkesbury to Gloucester
Stage eight Sunday 10 September Margam Country Park to Caerphilly
Teams
UCI WorldTeams: BORA – hansgrohe (Germany), INEOS Grenadiers (Great Britain), Jumbo – Visma (Netherlands), Movistar Team (Spain), Team dsm-firmenich (Netherlands)
UCI ProTeams: Bingoal WB (Belgium), Bolton Equities Black Spoke (New Zealand), Equipo Kern Pharma (Spain) Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team (Switzerland), Team Flanders – Baloise (Belgium), Uno-X Pro Cycling Team (Norway)
UCI Continental Teams: Global 6 Cycling (New Zealand), Saint Piran (Great Britain), TDT-Unibet Cycling Team (Netherlands), TRINITY Racing (Great Britain)
National Teams: Great Britain Cycling Team
Here is a summary of the road racing results so far at the 2023 UCI World Championships in Glasgow
89th World Championships Women’s Junior – Road Race (WC)
Saturday, August 05 2023, 10:00 Glasgow – Glasgow (70.km)
Julie Bego (France/Cofidis Women Team) has won the Women’s Junior Road race in Glasgow, beating 17 year old Briton Cat Ferguson and Belgian Fleur Moors by nine seconds.
89th World Championships Men’s Junior – Road Race (WC)
Saturday, August 05 2023, 13:00 Glasgow – Glasgow (127.7km)
Albert Withen Philipsen (Dernmark/Tscherning Cycling Academy) wins the junior men’s road race, beating Paul Fietzke (Germany/Team Auto Eder) and Felix Ørn-Kristoff (Norway/Stavanger SK)n by 1’19”.
89th World Championships Women Elite Individual Time Trial
Thursday, August 10 2023, 13:55, Stirling 36.2km
Chloe Dygert (USA/Canyon//SRAM Racing) takes gold in the women’s elite ITT with a time of 6″ faster than Australian Grace Brown (FDJ – SUEZ). Switzerland’s Christina Schweinberger (Fenix-Deceuninck) took bronze.
A review of the Road Book 1989, a comprehensive record of the 1989 Professional Road Racing Season
The Road Book 1989 is the inaugural cycling almanack in the Blue Series celebrating one of the most exciting years in the sport, the year of the closest Tour de France finish and the year the Berlin Wall fell.
When the first Road Book was published covering the 2018 season it immediately identified a gap in the market few realised was there and brought a unique level of insight into the sport of professional road cycling. With it though came one point of frustration – why did no one do this years before?
Well, the creators of the Road Book listened and the Blue Series of Road Books was born, with the flag dropping on 1989. A year that reminded American audiences, again, that the biggest sporting event in the world wasn’t the Super Bowl or the World Series, but the Tour de France.
As with the ‘Red Series’ the book is chock full of statistics and essays by those in the thick of the action. All the big races are in there and with each a description of what happened that day both on and off the bike, the latter a reminder that while professional road cycling can seem like a bubble it happens in public life goes on around it. Here’s an example:
TOUR DE SUISSE Stage 4 17 June 1989 Liestyal-Bad Zurzach 166.5kmThe city of Liestal is famous for its Chienbase traditional parade held annually on the Sunday night after Ash Wednesday. Often characterised as a pagan spring festival, it features the startlingly dangerous-looking sight of people processing through the cobbled streets of the old town clutching huge flaming torches of strips of pine. p 196
Of course 1989 is the year that a certain American with a French surname, Greg Lemond, broke French hearts in the most painful way when he bested French ‘national treasure’ the late Laurent Fignon by a mere eight seconds, on the final day, in Paris. Three hammer blows that struck deep into the French psyche. It was the closest the French have come to winning their home race in the 33 years since. It was also the year of the Tour de Trump versus the Tour de Rump, not a typo – see page 121.
A gallery of photographs from some of the best photographers in cycling bring 1989 to life and remind us that this was the era not just of steel frames but before shell helmets and the ubiquitous presence of sunglasses, when the suffering and glory was there for all to see. Everything changes, but nothing changes.
Happy Reading!
More details on the Road Book Series can be found on the official website here: https://theroadbook.co.uk/
Stage 4: Dax to Nogaro, 181.8km
Philipsen Doubles up in Nogaro
Nogaro, Tuesday, July 4th –Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) took his second win of the 2023 Tour de France, and his fourth Tour de France sprint finish in a row, in a finale littered with crashes.
From the start in Dax —home town of the legendary sprinter André Darrigade, who won 22 Tour de France stages— to the finish on the Circuit Paul-Armagnac race track in Nogaro, everything pointed to a sprinter taking the spoils in stage 4, sandwiched between three gruelling stages in the Basque Country and the race’s first foray into the Pyrenees. The super-speedsters did not let this golden opportunity go to waste. Barrelling down the flat roads of the Landes and Gers departments, the sprinters’ teams kept a tight rein on a stage in which the breakaway took its sweet time to form.
The Norman duo of Benoît Cosnefroy and Anthony Delaplace took off with 86 kilometres to go and added some excitement to the race before getting reeled in about half an hour before the finish. The European champion, Fabio Jakobsen, was among those who hit the tarmac in the crash-marred finale, leaving Jasper Philipsen to surge to his fourth Tour de France bunch sprint win on a trot, one day after raising his arms in triumph in Bayonne and a year after coming out on top in Carcassonne and on the Champs-Élysées. It was a double whammy for the Belgian rider, who cemented his status as the king of sprints and wrested the green jersey from Victor Lafay, while Adam Yates stayed in yellow.
Stage 4 Results and GC
Stage 3: Amorebieta-Etxano to Bayonne, 193.5km
The Sprinters Rule as the Tour finally reaches France
Bayonne, Monday, July 3rd –Jasper Philipsen won stage 3 to Bayonne in a bunch sprint finish ahead of Phil Bauhaus and Caleb Ewan. It’s the third Tour de France stage victory and the 30th career win for the 25 year old Belgian as well as the fifth Tour de France win for Alpecin-Deceuninck. Adam Yates retained the overall lead.
How it happened
174 riders started the stage in Amorebieta-Etxano as the Le Tour prepared to bid farewell to the Spanish Basque country. With a bunch of KOM points up for grabs across a Cat 3 and 4 climbs it was no surprise to see King of the Mountains leader Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) the first in action. He was joined at the front right after flag off by Laurent Pichon (Arkea-Samsic). Powless banked points across climbs at Trabakua (km 13.8) and Millol (37.8) to secure the polka dot jersey mathematically at least until the Tour reaches the Pyrénées on stage 5.
After 30km of racing the time gap was 3’ with 37.2km were covered by the leading duo in the first hour of racing. Before the intermediate sprint at Deba (km 65.8), stage 2 winner Victor Lafay (Cofidis) jumoedaway from the peloton to score 15 points behind Pichon and Powless in order to defend his green jersey.
France, Nous Voici!
After taking maximum points over the last categorised climb at km 112, Powless sat up and left Pichon to ride solo and lead the race in France with an advantage of two minutes over the peloton and 60km remaining. It had been whittled down to 40’’ fifteen kilometres later as the teams of the sprinters entered in action, and after 156km in the lead, Pichon was reeled in with 37km remaining.
A high tempo by the sprinters’ and GC teams put a dampener on any attacks as they eyed up the predicted bunch sprint.
VAN DER POEL LEADS PHILIPSEN OUT
As the peloton rocketed through the streets of Bayonne Intermarché-Circus-Wanty dug deep to give Biniam Girmay to win his first Tour de France stage but in the final kilometre Alpecin-Deceuninck gave a masterclass in lead outs.
Mathieu kept it fast and furious with Jasper Philipsen glued to his back wheel. Van der Poel peeled off with 200m to go leaving Philipsen to claim his third Tour stage. Tour debutant Phil Bauhaus took second spot with Caleb Ewan rounded out the podium. Adam Yates retained the Maillot Jaune.
Stage 3 Results and GC
Stage 2: Vitoria-Gasteiz to San Sébastián, 208.9km
Lafay holds off the peloton to win Stage 2
San Sebastian, Sunday, July 2nd –Victor Lafay escaped from the group of the favourites one kilometre to end a fifteen year drought for Team Cofidis. The team’s last win at the Tour de Grance was w=in 2008 when Sylvain Chavanel outclassed Jérémy Roy in Montluçon.
Lafay is the third French rider to win in in San Sebastian following on from Louis Caput in 1949 and Dominique Arnould in 1992. Third on the line, Tadej Pogacar gained four seconds of time bonus while Adam Yates retained the yellow jersey.
Stage 2 Results and GC
Full results available here
Stage 1: Bilbao-Bilbao. 182 km
Yates Twins go one-two in historic finish. Adam takes the top prize.
Adam and Simon Yates, twins but rivals from different teams, took an historic one-two at the end of a dramatic opening stage of the 2023 Tour de France in the Basque city of Bilbao. The two paired up by happenstance about 7.5km from the finish and worked in sync before Adam proved the stronger in the closing two hundred metres distancing his twin without a backward glance to take the win and claim first wearing of the maillot jaune.
Stage 1 Results
Full results available here
2023 marks 20 years of supplying the Tour de France ‘red car’ – the most famous car in cycling.
The Daily Peloton continues its Tour de France preview with a look at this year’s model, the all electric Škoda Enyaq iV and receives some insight into life on the road with full time occupants, race director Christian Prudhomme and driver Gilles Maignan.
Škoda‘s first car supplied to the Tour de France in 2004, used by then Director of the Tour de France, Jean-Marie Leblanc, was a Superb Mk1, a diesel with a top speed of 134mph. For this year’s event the Tour de France is using the Škoda Enyaq iV all electric which debuted at the race on three stages in 2020.
| 2004 Red Car – Škoda Superb Gen I | 2023 Red Car – Škoda Enyaq iV |
| Diesel | Electric |
| Manual transmission | Automatic transmission |
| 140 PS | 201 PS |
| 9.9s 0-62mph | 8.5s 0-62mph |
| 134 mph top speed | 99 mph top speed |
Christian Prudhomme, Director of the Tour de France, commented: “Škoda is an important partner of the Tour de France and the Škoda car number 1 is my office for each stage. The car is a sort of control tower that receives all the information of what is happening on the race route before the arrival of the riders (demonstrations, potential blockage, road and weather conditions).
“Over the course of the 3,500 km race I can spend anywhere between two to nine hours in the car number 1 each day. Needless to say I do spend a large portion of the month of July in the back seat of a Škoda.”
The race director’s Škoda Enyaq iV is not the same as you would pickup from your local showroom. It is a conversion from an Enyaq SportLine carried out by prototype builders Best Modell, under the supervision of Škoda engineers. As part of the transformation, a sunroof was installed above the rear seats while the standard roof bars were made higher to make them easier to hold when the car was in motion. The conversion team also had to design and source a new centre console and cooling cabinet for the traditional bottle of champagne. To ensure that the vehicle’s additional equipment didn’t affect the Enyaq’s driving range, the team installed two 75 ampere batteries in the boot floor. The design was completed by new champagne flute holders, designed and 3D printed in-house by Best Modell.
Škoda Enyaq iV with Race Director Christian Prudhomme
In addition to the body modifications, the Enyaq comes with a number of features that increase its environmental credentials. Among these are special tyres developed by Continental (Major Partner of the Tour de France) specifically for the Enyaq. Used on all Enyaq support models on the event, the special tyres feature carcasses made entirely from recycled PET materials.
Q&A with Christian Prudhomme, Director of the Tour de France
How important is the role of the lead car to ensure the race runs smoothly?
Each car has a vital role in the smooth running of the race. Whether it be a Director or a Commissaire car, everyone plays their role to ensure the safe running of the Tour de France for all the parties involved. Car number 1 is a sort of control tower that receives all the information of what is happening on the race route before the arrival of the riders.
How do you work with Škoda to improve the car to support you in your role?
Škoda is an important partner and plays a key and obvious role in the organisation of the Tour de France due to the fact that it is an event where we are almost constantly on the move. We ensure to collect our feedback and share it with Škoda so they can best adapt (if needed) their vehicles for the very specific usage that we have on the Tour de France.
Q&A with Gilles Maignan, Driver of Race Direction Car Number 1
The Race Direction Car Number 1 is driven by two-time French time trial champion, Gilles Maignan. Maignan retired from the sport in 2001 and was asked by Christian Prudhomme to be his driver after he had previously driven him in a VIP car during Prudhomme’s days working for French TV.
In order to take this important role within the race, Maignan first had to obtain an FCC driving license and is required to attend training sessions specific to driving in the Tour de France. Professional cyclists are often recruited to drive inside the race as they know how to anticipate and react according to the movements of the cyclists and peloton. Each year the lead car driver schedules debrief sessions with Škoda to share feedback gathered from all Tour drivers to help improve the vehicles for future Tours.
What are the best car developments over the years that have benefited you?
The switch to automatic gearboxes has really simplified the driving from inside a cycling race, especially for uphill portions. Also, the dashboard on the Superb shows exactly how many kilometres you have driven to the first decimal, which is very important in a cycling race to know how far you are from the finish. We have recently switched to hybrid vehicles which allows me to be in electric mode between the Fictive Start and Real Start of each stage, which is appreciated by the riders who have to stay right behind me on this section.
How does it feel to lead the peloton?
It changes a bit from back when I was a rider. I have an important responsibility to lead out the best riders on the biggest professional cycling race in the world and my job is to help Christian Prudhomme ensure a safe race for everyone, including the spectators.
How do the cars communicate with each other and how has it changed?
This is done through radio communication as it has proven to be the most effective and direct way to communicate, especially when you reach some very remote areas of France where telephone signal can be scarce.
Are there any speed limits that need to be adhered to?
Yes, we cannot go over 50 mph (80 km/h) except for the downhills if a rider is catching up to me. However, the main rule imposed by the UCI is that we cannot go over 12mph (20km/h) faster than the speed of riders.
The Tour de France runs from 1-23 July, starting in the Basque city of Bilbao and finishing on the iconic Champs Elysee in Paris. The race, comprising 21 stages and covering a distance of 3,404-km, features five mountain stages and a sole time-trial of 22km on stage 16. The official race website is here.
United Arab Emirates, 17 February 2023 – Abu Dhabi Sports Council, the organisers of the UAE Tour, are pleased to announce four more top riders expected to be among the protagonists in the fifth edition of the UAE Tour, taking place from 20-26 February.
Third in the GC in 2022, Pello Bilbao (Bahrain – Victorious) returns to target Jebel Jais and Jebel Hafeet summit finishes, whilst Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan Team), Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jayco Alula) and Elia Viviani (INEOS Grenadiers) are ready to battle it out for the the sprint crown.
Mark Cavendish, who joined Astana Qazaqstan Team from Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team this season, is the reigning British champion and former world champion (2011), has a glittering history in the UAE, having taken seven victories in his five previous visits. His most recent win at the race was in 2022 UAE Tour, when he edged out Jasper Philipsen on the Abu Dhabi Breakwater to win Stage 2. With an impressive total of 34 Tour de France stage wins, Cavendish shares the record of all-time stage wins with cycling legend Eddy Merckx.
Pello Bilbao (Bahrain – Victorious) returns to the UAE 12 months after securing third place in the General Classification. Bilbao’s podium finish resulted from a great performance on the Jebel Hafeet climb, where claimed the third spot behind eventual race winner Tadej Pogačar and runner-up Adam Yates. A two-time stage winner at the Giro d’Italia, Bilbao kicked off his palmares this season by winning Stage 3 of the Santos Tour Down Under, and is now ready to show his form at the fifth edition of the UAE Tour.
Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jayco Alula) is just one of the many top sprinters expected to shine during the four stages which look suited to sprinters of this year’s race. The Dutchman is a five-time stage winner of the Tour de France (between 2017 to 2022), and has already had success at the UAE Tour, having won Stage 4 in 2020. This year he already has a win, taking Stage 1 of the Saudi Tour, and will now be looking for more success in the one and only UCI WorldTour race in the Middle East.
Elia Viviani (INEOS Grenadiers) will also be on the hunt for stage wins at this year’s race. The Italian first rode the UAE Tour in 2019, taking a stage victory and the sprinter’s green jersey as part of Deceuninck – Quick Step . Winner of the 2018 Dubai Tour, five stages at the Giro d’Italia, one stage at the Tour de France, and Olympic Champion in the omnium at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Viviani heads to the UAE to target wins in stages 1,4,5 and 6.
