Tour of Britain 2017 – Stage 1 [FULL STAGE]

September 03, 2017

Tour of Britain 2017 – Stage 1 – Edinburgh – Kelso : 190 km

The 2017 Tour of Britain is a eight-stage men’s professional road cycling race. It is the fourteenth running of the modern version of the Tour of Britain and the 77th British tour in total. The race starts on 3 September in Edinburgh and finishes on 10 September in Cardiff. The race is part of the 2017 UCI Europe Tour.

Caleb Ewan (Orica-Scott) won stage 1 of the Tour of Britain, edging out Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data) in a photo finish after a masterful leadout from Luka Mezgec. Elia Viviani (Sky) finished third, barely half a wheel’s length further back.

A flat run-in saw the sprinters’ teams battle it out, but despite Sky and Katusha-Alpecin being more visible it was Orica-Scott who got the timing right. The Australian outfit took control in the finale, with Mezgec and Ewan hitting the front just before a technical final kilometre, which included sharp turns, a narrow bridge and a cobbled finishing straight.

Boasson Hagen initially had the jump on Ewan, but the time spent in Mezgec’s wheel benefitted the Australian, leaving him enough power to eke out the win.

“When I crossed the line, I was pretty confident that I had got it,” Ewan said in the post-race press conference. “It was pretty close but then after the line I saw all the cameras around Eddy and then I started doubting. When it’s that close you never really know.”

“It was a pretty tricky final because of the tight corner with about 500 metres to go, and then obviously with the cobblestones in the finish, so we definitely wanted to be on the front into the corner, and then have Luka take me to the 200 metre mark.

“I can’t complain about the leadout; I just had to sit there and get taken through the really tricky parts.”

Taking bonus seconds into account, Ewan now leads the race with a three-second advantage over Boasson Hagen, with breakaway rider and sprint classification leader Karol Domagalski (One Pro Cycling) sitting in third overall a further second back.

How it unfolded

The 14th edition of the modern Tour of Britain opened with a 190km stage from Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital, to the border town of Kelso. With three intermediate sprints and three classified climbs on the route, it was no surprise that the 8 riders of the breakaway were keen to get going early.

Within 20 kilometres of the start, the day’s break was established, featuring Karol Domagalski (One Pro Cycling), Jacob Scott (AnPost-ChainReaction), Robert Partridge (Bike Channel-Canyon), Connor Swift (Madison-Genesis), Graham Briggs (JLT-Condor), Mark McNally (Wanty-Groupe Gobert), Łukasz Owsian (CCC Sprandi-Polkowice), and Gorka Izagirre (Movistar).

Almost immediately their advantage ballooned to three minutes, before stabilising at two minutes as the peloton got organised.

Swift won the first climb of the day, also the highest point of the race, but there was more drama on the descent as Domagalski was knocked down by the Madison-Genesis team car. A cut elbow aside, the Pole didn’t seem to sustain any major damage, and rejoined the group within ten kilometres.

Meanwhile, back in the peloton Orica-Scott, Sky and Quick Step led the way, with their sprinters Caleb Ewan, Elia Viviani and Fernando Gaviria in mind for the probable sprint finish in Kelso.

After passing through the finish for the first time, the exposed roads of the 79km finishing loop delivered the anticipated crosswinds. Katusha and BMC drove the peloton, briefly splitting the peloton and mopping up six riders from the break of the day.

The last men standing were the two Poles, Domagalski and Owsian, and both were rewarded for their perseverance. Domagalski’s red sprints jersey will be a nice pick-me-up after his earlier crash, while Owsian leads the mountains classification.

On the lower slopes of the day’s final climb, the two were finally caught by the Quick Step Floors-led peloton. Mark Cavendish was a notable casualty of the fast pace, while up front Fernando Gaviria was chasing down attacks.

With a flat run-in to the finish, a bunch sprint was inevitable as first Katusha and Sky, then Orica-Scott shared the pacemaking at the front of the peloton. Not every team could stay there in the technical final kilometre, however, and it was Orica-Scott who reaped the rewards for doing so.

Results :
1 Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica-Scott 4:34:17
2 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data
3 Elia Viviani (Ita) Team Sky
4 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha-Alpecin
5 Fernando Gaviria (Col) Quick-Step Floors
6 Christopher Lawless (GBr) Great Britain
7 Brenton Jones (Aus) JLT Condor
8 Nikolas Maes (Bel) Lotto Soudal
9 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Quick-Step Floors
10 Floris Gerts (Ned) BMC Racing Team
11 Patrick Bevin (NZl) Cannondale-Drapac
12 Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
13 Mads Würtz Schmidt (Den) Katusha-Alpecin
14 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Soudal
15 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Orica-Scott
16 Maciej Paterski (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
17 Oliver Wood (GBr) Great Britain
18 Mark Stewart (GBr) An Post Chain Reaction
19 Enrico Barbin (Ita) Bardiani CSF
20 Hayden Mccormick (NZl) One Pro Cycling
21 James Shaw (GBr) Lotto Soudal
22 Tony Martin (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin
23 Dion Smith (NZl) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
24 Russell Downing (GBr) JLT Condor
25 Jonas Koch (Ger) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
26 Matthew Teggart (Irl) An Post Chain Reaction
27 Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac
28 Stefan Küng (Swi) BMC Racing Team
29 Scott Thwaites (GBr) Dimension Data
30 Ryan Mullen (Irl) Cannondale-Drapac
31 Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
32 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Movistar Team
33 Laurens De Plus (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
34 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
35 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Movistar Team
36 Michael Hepburn (Aus) Orica-Scott
37 Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin
38 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Katusha-Alpecin
39 Silvan Dillier (Swi) BMC Racing Team
40 Jos Van Emden (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
41 Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-Scott
42 Ariel Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) Quick-Step Floors
43 Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
44 Joey Rosskopf (USA) BMC Racing Team
45 Lars Boom (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
46 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team
47 Jonathan Castroviejo (Spa) Movistar Team
48 Tiago Machado (Por) Katusha-Alpecin
49 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky
50 Owain Doull (GBr) Team Sky
51 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky
52 Gorka Izagirre (Spa) Movistar Team
53 Imanol Erviti (Spa) Movistar Team
54 Dexter Gardias (GBr) Bike Channel Canyon
55 Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF
56 Victor Campenaerts (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
57 Hugh Carthy (GBr) Cannondale-Drapac
58 Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Bardiani CSF
59 Davide Formolo (Ita) Cannondale-Drapac
60 Rory Sutherland (Aus) Movistar Team
61 James Oram (NZl) One Pro Cycling
62 Karol Domagalski (Pol) One Pro Cycling
63 Daniel Martin (Irl) Quick-Step Floors
64 Primoz Roglic (Slo) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
65 Kamil Gradek (Pol) One Pro Cycling
66 James Knox (GBr) Great Britain
67 Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Team Sky
68 Richard Handley (GBr) Madison Genesis
69 Ben Hermans (Bel) BMC Racing Team 0:00:16
70 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Dimension Data 0:00:29
71 Roger Kluge (Ger) Orica-Scott 0:00:41
72 James Gullen (GBr) JLT Condor 0:01:50
73 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
74 Rory Townsend (GBr) Bike Channel Canyon
75 Jay Thompson (RSA) Dimension Data
76 Steele Von Hoff (Aus) One Pro Cycling
77 Regan Gough (NZl) An Post Chain Reaction
78 Eric Marcotte (USA) Cylance Cycling
79 Lukasz Owsian (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
80 Jan Tratnik (Slo) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
81 Matthew Holmes (GBr) Madison Genesis
82 Alistair Slater (GBr) JLT Condor
83 Bryan Lewis (USA) Cylance Cycling 0:03:57
84 James Lowsley-Williams (GBr) Bike Channel Canyon 0:06:26
85 Alexandre Blain (Fra) Madison Genesis
86 Enzo Wouters (Bel) Lotto Soudal
87 Harry Tanfield (GBr) Bike Channel Canyon
88 Connor Swift (GBr) Madison Genesis
89 Senne Leysen (Bel) Lotto Soudal
90 Thomas Gibbons (USA) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
91 Paolo Simion (Ita) Bardiani CSF
92 Vincenzo Albanese (Ita) Bardiani CSF
93 Mark Mcnally (GBr) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
94 Damien Shaw (Irl) An Post Chain Reaction
95 Peter Williams (GBr) One Pro Cycling
96 Taylor Gunman (NZl) Madison Genesis
97 Jonathan Mcevoy (GBr) Madison Genesis
98 Sean Mckenna (Irl) An Post Chain Reaction
99 Ian Bibby (GBr) JLT Condor
100 Andres Diaz (Ven) Cylance Cycling
101 Ethan Hayter (GBr) Great Britain
102 Jacob Hennessy (GBr) Great Britain
103 Kyle Murphy (USA) Cylance Cycling
104 Taylor Phinney (USA) Cannondale-Drapac
105 Rob Power (Aus) Orica-Scott
106 Jacob Scott (GBr) An Post Chain Reaction
107 Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Lotto Soudal
108 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Dimension Data 0:07:30
109 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Dimension Data
110 Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Sky
111 Alan Banaszek (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
112 Simone Andreetta (Ita) Bardiani CSF
113 Orlando Garibay (Mex) Cylance Cycling 0:11:05
114 Marcin Bialoblocki (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
115 Graham Briggs (GBr) JLT Condor 0:12:43
116 Robert Partridge (GBr) Bike Channel Canyon
117 Wesley Kreder (Ned) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
118 Chris Opie (GBr) Bike Channel Canyon
119 Adam Hartley (GBr) Great Britain
DNF Samuel Hunter Grove (USA) Cylance Cycling

General Classification after Stage 1 :
1 Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica-Scott 4:34:07
2 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data 0:00:03
3 Karol Domagalski (Pol) One Pro Cycling 0:00:04
4 Elia Viviani (Ita) Team Sky 0:00:06
5 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha-Alpecin 0:00:10
6 Fernando Gaviria (Col) Quick-Step Floors
7 Christopher Lawless (GBr) Great Britain
8 Brenton Jones (Aus) JLT Condor
9 Nikolas Maes (Bel) Lotto Soudal
10 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Quick-Step Floors
11 Floris Gerts (Ned) BMC Racing Team
12 Patrick Bevin (NZl) Cannondale-Drapac
13 Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
14 Mads Würtz Schmidt (Den) Katusha-Alpecin
15 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Soudal
16 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Orica-Scott
17 Maciej Paterski (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
18 Oliver Wood (GBr) Great Britain
19 Mark Stewart (GBr) An Post Chain Reaction
20 Enrico Barbin (Ita) Bardiani CSF
21 Hayden Mccormick (NZl) One Pro Cycling
22 James Shaw (GBr) Lotto Soudal
23 Tony Martin (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin
24 Dion Smith (NZl) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
25 Russell Downing (GBr) JLT Condor
26 Jonas Koch (Ger) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
27 Matthew Teggart (Irl) An Post Chain Reaction
28 Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac
29 Stefan Küng (Swi) BMC Racing Team
30 Scott Thwaites (GBr) Dimension Data
31 Ryan Mullen (Irl) Cannondale-Drapac
32 Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
33 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Movistar Team
34 Laurens De Plus (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
35 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
36 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Movistar Team
37 Michael Hepburn (Aus) Orica-Scott
38 Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin
39 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Katusha-Alpecin
40 Silvan Dillier (Swi) BMC Racing Team
41 Jos Van Emden (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
42 Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-Scott
43 Ariel Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) Quick-Step Floors
44 Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
45 Joey Rosskopf (USA) BMC Racing Team
46 Lars Boom (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
47 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team
48 Jonathan Castroviejo (Spa) Movistar Team
49 Tiago Machado (Por) Katusha-Alpecin
50 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky
51 Owain Doull (GBr) Team Sky
52 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky
53 Gorka Izagirre (Spa) Movistar Team
54 Imanol Erviti (Spa) Movistar Team
55 Dexter Gardias (GBr) Bike Channel Canyon
56 Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF
57 Victor Campenaerts (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
58 Hugh Carthy (GBr) Cannondale-Drapac
59 Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Bardiani CSF
60 Davide Formolo (Ita) Cannondale-Drapac
61 Rory Sutherland (Aus) Movistar Team
62 James Oram (NZl) One Pro Cycling
63 Daniel Martin (Irl) Quick-Step Floors
64 Primoz Roglic (Slo) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
65 Kamil Gradek (Pol) One Pro Cycling
66 James Knox (GBr) Great Britain
67 Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Team Sky
68 Richard Handley (GBr) Madison Genesis
69 Ben Hermans (Bel) BMC Racing Team 0:00:26
70 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Dimension Data 0:00:39
71 Roger Kluge (Ger) Orica-Scott 0:00:52
72 Lukasz Owsian (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice 0:01:58
73 James Gullen (GBr) JLT Condor 0:02:00
74 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
75 Rory Townsend (GBr) Bike Channel Canyon
76 Jay Thompson (RSA) Dimension Data
77 Steele Von Hoff (Aus) One Pro Cycling
78 Regan Gough (NZl) An Post Chain Reaction
79 Eric Marcotte (USA) Cylance Cycling
80 Jan Tratnik (Slo) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
81 Matthew Holmes (GBr) Madison Genesis
82 Alistair Slater (GBr) JLT Condor
83 Bryan Lewis (USA) Cylance Cycling 0:04:07
84 Mark Mcnally (GBr) Wanty – Groupe Gobert 0:06:31
85 James Lowsley-Williams (GBr) Bike Channel Canyon 0:06:36
86 Alexandre Blain (Fra) Madison Genesis
87 Enzo Wouters (Bel) Lotto Soudal
88 Harry Tanfield (GBr) Bike Channel Canyon
89 Connor Swift (GBr) Madison Genesis
90 Senne Leysen (Bel) Lotto Soudal
91 Thomas Gibbons (USA) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
92 Paolo Simion (Ita) Bardiani CSF
93 Vincenzo Albanese (Ita) Bardiani CSF
94 Damien Shaw (Irl) An Post Chain Reaction
95 Peter Williams (GBr) One Pro Cycling
96 Taylor Gunman (NZl) Madison Genesis
97 Jonathan Mcevoy (GBr) Madison Genesis
98 Sean Mckenna (Irl) An Post Chain Reaction
99 Ian Bibby (GBr) JLT Condor
100 Andres Diaz (Ven) Cylance Cycling
101 Ethan Hayter (GBr) Great Britain
102 Jacob Hennessy (GBr) Great Britain
103 Kyle Murphy (USA) Cylance Cycling
104 Taylor Phinney (USA) Cannondale-Drapac
105 Rob Power (Aus) Orica-Scott
106 Jacob Scott (GBr) An Post Chain Reaction
107 Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Lotto Soudal
108 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Dimension Data 0:07:40
109 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Dimension Data
110 Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Sky
111 Alan Banaszek (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
112 Simone Andreetta (Ita) Bardiani CSF
113 Orlando Garibay (Mex) Cylance Cycling 0:11:15
114 Marcin Bialoblocki (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
115 Graham Briggs (GBr) JLT Condor 0:12:50
116 Robert Partridge (GBr) Bike Channel Canyon 0:12:52
117 Wesley Kreder (Ned) Wanty – Groupe Gobert 0:12:53
118 Chris Opie (GBr) Bike Channel Canyon
119 Adam Hartley (GBr) Great Britain