Mathieu van der Poel leads the Tour of Britain after powering to victory in the fourth stage from Gateshead to Kendal. The Dutch rider had just missed out on victory on stage three when being pipped by Dylan Groenewegen in a sprint finish, but made up for it when claiming the win on Tuesday.
Van der Poel launched a powerful uphill sprint to break away from a group of riders, and it proved to be enough to take the win. Italy’s Matteo Trentin had started the day with a seven-second lead at the top of the general classification, but Van der Poel now holds it by one second with four stages to go.
“Attacking early was a bit of a gamble because I didn’t really know where the finish line was,” said Van der Poel. “I got a bit boxed in on Monday at the finish and I didn’t want it to happen again, so I just went full gas with 300 metres to go. It was actually a bit far but I immediately had a gap. “With 100 metres to go the road got a bit easier so it was big enough to keep that gap until the finish line.”
Got what it Takes?
Predict and Win Millions Now
