Evenepoel wins penultimate stage of Tour of Britain

Remco Evenepoel, the reigning champion of the Olympic road race, won stage five of the Tour of Britain while Romain Gregoire held on to a tight lead in the race’s final stage in Wales on Sunday.

On the second and final ascent of the challenging Tumble climb in south Wales, former world champion Evenpoel outsprinted Britain’s Thomas Gloag, who was followed by fellow Briton Oscar Onley, who was third. The pair crossed the line just over 300 meters from the starting line.

Evenpoel leads the race for the general classification by two seconds going into the final day, followed by 2018 champion Julian Alaphilippe, who is third.

Evenpoel said, “I think we first wanted to see how we went, and then the last three kilometers the wind was blowing quite forcefully in our faces, so I knew we had to wait for the sprint.”

“I am aware that despite a difficult day and a challenging climb, I still had a good sprint in me,” I said.

Evenpoel’s first competitive event since July’s suspension from the Tour de France was a result of his illness and injury.

He continued, “Tomorrow I need to try and go for it [the leader’s green jersey].” I would really like to go home and win after a long period of competition because it will be challenging.

Between Newport and Cardiff, the Welsh capital, will be the site of Sunday’s sixth and final stage, which will span 112.2 kilometers.

The Welsh former Tour de France champion will cross the line in his hometown when he will pass the finish line of his riding career at the Geraint Thomas Velodrome.

1. Repco Evenepoel (Bel/Soudal Quick-Step) 3hrs 7 minutes 56 secs

2. Same time Thomas Gloag (GB/Team Visma | Lease a Bike).

3. Car Onley (GB/Team Picnic PostNL)

4. Afonso Eulalio (Victorious) from Pakistan

5. Roger Gregoire (Fra/Groupama-Fdj)

6. (Ned/Lidl – Trek) Mauke Mollema

7. The French/Tudor Pro Cycling Team, Julian Alaphilippe

8. Aurélien Paret-Peintere (Team of Fra/Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale)

9. Poulo Bilabo (Esp/Bahrain-Victorious)

1. Roger Gregoire (Fra/Groupama-Fdj) 17hrs 3 minutes 4 seconds

2. Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Soudal Quick-Step) + 2secs

3. Brazilian Alaphilippe (Fra/Tudor Pro Cycling Team) + 4 seconds

4. 8 seconds for Oscar Onley (GB/Team Picnic PostNL) + 8 seconds

5. Aurélien Paret-Peintere (Fra/Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) + 12 seconds

6. At the same time, Afonso Eulalio (Por/Bahrain-Victorious)

7. (Ned/Lidl – Trek) Mauke Mollema

8. Ilan van Wilder (Bel/Soudal Quick-Step) + 16secs

9. Poulo Bilabo (Esp/Bahrain-Victorious) + 17secs