Tour of Britain 2021 – Stage 7 [FULL STAGE]

September 11, 2021

Tour of Britain 2021 – Stage 7 – Hawick – Edinburgh : 194,8 km

After a one-year hiatus the Tour of Britain is back, ready and raring to kickstart many riders’ preparations for the upcoming World Championships. With a dynamic eight-day route that features stages in England, Wales and Scotland, this year’s race is one of the most ‘complete’ tours of Britain ever seen. Add to that a star-studded start list which contains the likes of Julian Alaphilippe, Wout van Aert and Mark Cavendish and you have all the makings of a truly memorable edition. The Tour of Britain is the UK’s flagship stage race and one of the most important warm-up events on the calendar for those riders with lofty, end-of-season goals. Back for the first time since 2019 due to a COVID-19-enforced hiatus, the race will – once again – serve as a testing ground for prospective World Champions. The eight-day race runs from September 5th to September 12th and features stages as far south as Penzance and as far north as Aberdeen. As the riders make their long trek north, they’ll tackle three stages for the sprinters, a decisive team time trial and four demanding hilly stages that cover quintessentially British terrain.

Yves Lampaert gave Deceuninck-Quickstep their 55th win of 2021 and their first stage win of the 2021 Tour of Britain, beating Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) and Matt Gibson (Ribble-Weldtite) from the day’s successful breakaway to Edinburgh.

Race leader Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) led the peloton to the finish ahead of second-placed Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) 1:51 behind the lead group to keep the top of the general classification the same.

Lampaert was part of the day’s early breakaway along with teammate Davide Ballerini, Jorgenson, Gibson, Christopher Blevins (Trinity Racing) and Pascal Eenkhoorn (Jumbo-Visma), but the group split on the run-in when Lampaert launched a stinging attack.

He credited his teammate for helping him play the tactical game in the finale when it was just him, Jorgenson and Gibson.

“It’s the biggest advantage you can have if you can play with two guys in the final, two of five. It’s an advantage but it keeps the pressure high, you can’t afford to lose if you’re two of five so I’m really happy I could finish it off.

“It was quite nervous of course, we were three so it’s always difficult to finish it off. I took the wheel of Gibson, I heard on the radio he was quite fast. I had to do quite a long sprint, I started at 250 to and could hold it to the line,” Lampaert said.

“I’m really happy. I did already a lot for the team but today I could finish it off by myself and it’s a huge relief.”

How it unfolded

Riders faced a lengthy stage in Scotland after Friday’s marathon across the north of England, with a lumpy 195.7km route north from Hawick to Edinburgh.

It was no surprise that it would be a day for the breakaway, and four riders kicked clear in the opening kilometres, with the best-placed rider over five minutes down on Hayter.

Davide Ballerini (Deceuninck-Quickstep), Pascal Eenkhoorn (Jumbo-Visma), Matt Gibson (Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling), and Christopher Blevins (Trinity Racing) made up the escape and gained a generous five minutes while being chased by Yves Lampaert (Deceuninck-Quickstep), Joel Nicolau (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar).

Jorgenson and Lampaert made it across without Nicolau, and by the time the six-man escape made the first climb at Berrybush, they’d opened up a lead of 7:25 on the blue jersey group, with Jorgenson the virtual leader on the road.

The American claimed the maximum points at the intermediate sprint in Innerleithen after 47.8km of racing, and when Lampaert took the points at the next sprint in Duns after 125km, they still had eight minutes.

The gap began to fall below the five-minute mark in the final 50km, kicking Jorgenson out of the virtual lead as Alpecin-Fenix and Israel Start-Up Nation came to the front to help whittle down the gap. Blevins, who’d been in the breakaway earlier this week, lost touch with the group on an unclassified climb with 20km to go, leaving five up front.

With 10km to go, the breakaway looked set to contest the stage win with three minutes and change on the peloton heading into Edinburgh. An enthusiastic young cyclist raced the breakaway up a hill with 10km to go and received a gift for his efforts from Eenkhoorn in the form of a bidon.

In the final 10km, the cat and mouse games started, with the two Deceuninck-Quickstep riders unsuccessfully trying to shake their rivals.

Lampaert surged and was hunted down by Jorgenson, forcing Eenkhoorn to lead the chase. The Movistar rider was more than happy to work with the Belgian, favouring his chances in a two-up sprint. The pair forged a gap of six seconds with 6km to go when Lampaert, looking behind at the chasers, touched wheels with Jorgenson and nearly crashed.

Gibson, seeing the brief slowing ahead, attacked to bridge across with 5.5km to go and made the catch, leaving Eenkhoorn to disagree with Ballerini’s reluctance to chase. Now with three in the lead, Lampaert refused to pull to help Ballerini get back in but Gibson and Jorgenson were keen to keep the pace going.

Gibson attacked with 3.2km remaining as the trio held 16 seconds on the two chasers but Lampaert hunted him down. Jorgenson tried to surprise them with an attack around a traffic island but the Deceuninck-Quickstep rider shut that down too. Meanwhile, in the peloton, Ineos helped bring the gap down to just over two minutes.

Gibson led the trio into the final kilometre as Jorgenson waited for his moment to pounce at the back. They had enough of a lead to play a tactical game. Gibson attacked first but was quickly overtaken by Lampaert who had enough power to hold off Jorgenson and claim the stage win for Deceuninck-Quickstep.

He celebrated by sucking his thumb, dedicated his win to his recently born son
Aloïs.

Results :
1 Yves Lampaert (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep 4:39:09
2 Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Movistar Team
3 Matthew Gibson (GBr) Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling
4 Davide Ballerini (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:35
5 Pascal Eenkhoorn (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 0:00:41
6 Ethan Hayter (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers 0:01:51
7 Wout Van Aert (Bel) Jumbo-Visma
8 Max Kanter (Ger) Team DSM
9 Rohan Dennis (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers
10 Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) Alpecin-Fenix
11 Thomas Mein (GBr) Canyon DHB Sungod
12 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep
13 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Deceuninck-QuickStep
14 Gonzalo Serrano Rodriguez (Spa) Movistar Team
15 Gabriel Cullaigh (GBr) Movistar Team
16 Michal Paluta (Pol) Global 6 Cycling
17 Ryan Christensen (NZl) Canyon DHB Sungod
18 Mikkel Honoré (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep
19 Connor Swift (GBr) Team Arkea-Samsic
20 Carlos Rodriguez Cano (Spa) Ineos Grenadiers
21 Gruffudd Lewis (GBr) Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling
22 James Shaw (GBr) Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling
23 David Gonzalez Lopez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
24 Lukasz Owsian (Pol) Team Arkea-Samsic
25 Maximilian Stedman (GBr) Canyon DHB Sungod
26 Sean Bennett (USA) Team Qhubeka Assos
27 Robert Donaldson (GBr) Great Britain
28 Luke Lamperti (USA) Trinity Racing
29 Mark Donovan (GBr) Team DSM
30 Silvan Dillier (Swi) Alpecin-Fenix
31 Max Walker (GBr) Trinity Racing
32 Steve Lampier (GBr) Saint Piran
33 Maxime Bouet (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
34 Tim Naberman (Ned) Team DSM
35 Gavin Mannion (USA) Rally Cycling
36 Alex Peters (GBr) Swiftcarbon Pro Cycling
37 Simon Clarke (Aus) Team Qhubeka Assos
38 Joel Nicolau Beltran (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
39 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team DSM
40 Alex Richardson (GBr) Alpecin-Fenix
41 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Ineos Grenadiers
42 Romain Combaud (Fra) Team DSM
43 James Mitri (NZl) Global 6 Cycling
44 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Israel Start-up Nation
45 Ben Tulett (GBr) Alpecin-Fenix
46 Gijs Leemreize (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
47 Thomas Gloag (GBr) Trinity Racing
48 Hans Becking (Ned) Global 6 Cycling
49 Michael Woods (Can) Israel Start-up Nation
50 Tim Declercq (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
51 Joey Rosskopf (USA) Rally Cycling
52 Sergio Roman Martin Galan (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
53 Nicholas Dlamini (RSA) Team Qhubeka Assos
54 Josu Etxeberria Azpilikueta (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
55 Daniel Martin (Irl) Israel Start-up Nation
56 Jacob Scott (GBr) Canyon DHB Sungod
57 Nickolas Zukowsky (Can) Rally Cycling
58 Robin Carpenter (USA) Rally Cycling
59 Ben Healy (Irl) Trinity Racing
60 Oliver Stockwell (GBr) Great Britain
61 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Movistar Team
62 Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team
63 Colin Joyce (USA) Rally Cycling
64 Richie Porte (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers 0:03:38
65 Mason Hollyman (GBr) Israel Cycling Academy
66 William Tiball (GBr) Great Britain
67 Owain Doull (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
68 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Israel Start-up Nation
69 Nícolas Sessler (Bra) Global 6 Cycling
70 Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 0:01:51
71 André Greipel (Ger) Israel Start-up Nation 0:03:38
72 Mauro Schmid (Swi) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:01:51
73 Carlos Barbero (Spa) Team Qhubeka Assos
74 Kyle Murphy (USA) Rally Cycling 0:03:56
75 George Bennett (NZl) Jumbo-Visma
76 Rhys Britton (GBr) Great Britain 0:01:51
77 Jimmy Janssens (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 0:04:58
78 Ollie Peckover (GBr) Swiftcarbon Pro Cycling 0:05:33
79 William Bjergfelt (GBr) Swiftcarbon Pro Cycling
80 Simon Wilson (GBr) Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling
81 Leon Mazzone (GBr) Saint Piran
82 Bradley Symonds (GBr) Saint Piran
83 Christopher Latham (GBr) Swiftcarbon Pro Cycling 0:07:24
84 Daniel McLay (GBr) Team Arkea-Samsic
85 Max Rushby (GBr) Great Britain
86 Matthew Bostock (GBr) Canyon DHB Sungod
87 Tom Mazzone (GBr) Saint Piran
88 Jon Barrenetxea Golzarri (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
89 Rory Townsend (Irl) Canyon DHB Sungod
90 Jokin Murguialday (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
91 Oliver Maxwell (GBr) Saint Piran 0:08:53
92 Ross Lamb (GBr) Swiftcarbon Pro Cycling 0:11:16
93 Christopher Blevins (USA) Trinity Racing
94 Ross Holland (GBr) Saint Piran 0:20:23

General Classification after Stage 7 :
1 Ethan Hayter (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers 27:34:32
2 Wout Van Aert (Bel) Jumbo-Visma 0:00:04
3 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:21
4 Mikkel Honoré (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:35
5 Michael Woods (Can) Israel Start-up Nation 0:00:54
6 Rohan Dennis (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers 0:01:08
7 Daniel Martin (Irl) Israel Start-up Nation 0:01:10
8 Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) Alpecin-Fenix 0:01:37
9 Mark Donovan (GBr) Team DSM 0:01:58
10 Carlos Rodriguez Cano (Spa) Ineos Grenadiers 0:02:01
11 Gonzalo Serrano Rodriguez (Spa) Movistar Team 0:02:02
12 Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
13 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team DSM
14 James Shaw (GBr) Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling 0:02:10
15 Maxime Bouet (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:02:27
16 Connor Swift (GBr) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:02:36
17 Gavin Mannion (USA) Rally Cycling 0:02:52
18 Simon Clarke (Aus) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:03:01
19 Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Movistar Team 0:03:06
20 Lukasz Owsian (Pol) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:03:31
21 Joel Nicolau Beltran (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:03:42
22 Alex Peters (GBr) Swiftcarbon Pro Cycling 0:03:47
23 Robin Carpenter (USA) Rally Cycling 0:03:54
24 Yves Lampaert (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:04:16
25 Maximilian Stedman (GBr) Canyon DHB Sungod 0:04:17
26 Silvan Dillier (Swi) Alpecin-Fenix 0:04:27
27 Sergio Roman Martin Galan (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:04:38
28 Pascal Eenkhoorn (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 0:06:23
29 Michal Paluta (Pol) Global 6 Cycling 0:07:47
30 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Ineos Grenadiers 0:08:03
31 Mauro Schmid (Swi) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:08:25
32 Matthew Gibson (GBr) Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling 0:09:18
33 Colin Joyce (USA) Rally Cycling 0:09:37
34 George Bennett (NZl) Jumbo-Visma 0:09:47
35 Steve Lampier (GBr) Saint Piran 0:10:06
36 Oliver Stockwell (GBr) Great Britain 0:10:22
37 Ryan Christensen (NZl) Canyon DHB Sungod 0:10:28
38 Carlos Barbero (Spa) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:10:34
39 Josu Etxeberria Azpilikueta (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:11:06
40 Tim Declercq (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:11:20
41 James Mitri (NZl) Global 6 Cycling 0:11:32
42 Robert Doonaldson (GBr) Great Britain 0:11:41
43 Alex Richardson (GBr) Alpecin-Fenix 0:11:53
44 Ben Tulett (GBr) Alpecin-Fenix 0:12:19
45 Max Walker (GBr) Trinity Racing 0:14:51
46 Thomas Gloag (GBr) Trinity Racing 0:15:18
47 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Israel Start-up Nation
48 Nickolas Zukowsky (Can) Rally Cycling 0:15:42
49 Sean Bennett (USA) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:16:59
50 Joey Rosskopf (USA) Rally Cycling 0:17:37
51 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Movistar Team 0:19:08
52 Owain Doull (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers 0:19:32
53 Rory Townsend (Irl) Canyon DHB Sungod 0:20:05
54 Davide Ballerini (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:20:11
55 Romain Combaud (Fra) Team DSM 0:20:47
56 Richie Porte (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers 0:21:18
57 Gijs Leemreize (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 0:21:44
58 Ben Healy (Irl) Trinity Racing 0:23:19
59 Christopher Blevins (USA) Trinity Racing 0:24:23
60 David Gonzalez Lopez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:24:42
61 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Israel Start-up Nation 0:24:56
62 Mason Hollyman (GBr) Israel Cycling Academy 0:25:22
63 Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team 0:25:29
64 Thomas Mein (GBr) Canyon DHB Sungod 0:27:29
65 Max Kanter (Ger) Team DSM 0:28:05
66 Kyle Murphy (USA) Rally Cycling 0:30:52
67 Nicholas Dlamini (RSA) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:32:34
68 Luke Lamperti (USA) Trinity Racing 0:32:45
69 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:33:25
70 Jimmy Janssens (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 0:34:13
71 Gruffudd Lewis (GBr) Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling 0:34:14
72 Leon Mazzone (GBr) Saint Piran 0:36:33
73 Jacob Scott (GBr) Canyon DHB Sungod 0:36:40
74 Jon Barrenetxea Golzarri (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:38:32
75 Tim Naberman (Ned) Team DSM 0:39:35
76 Rhys Britton (GBr) Great Britain 0:39:50
77 André Greipel (Ger) Israel Start-up Nation 0:41:23
78 Nícolas Sessler (Bra) Global 6 Cycling 0:47:13
79 Hans Becking (Ned) Global 6 Cycling 0:47:20
80 Matthew Bostock (GBr) Canyon DHB Sungod 0:49:59
81 Daniel McLay (GBr) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:51:01
82 Jokin Murguialday (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:52:54
83 Gabriel Cullaigh (GBr) Movistar Team 0:56:07
84 Bradley Symonds (GBr) Saint Piran 1:02:38
85 Ollie Peckover (GBr) Swiftcarbon Pro Cycling 1:03:20
86 Simon Wilson (GBr) Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling 1:07:17
87 Christopher Latham (GBr) Swiftcarbon Pro Cycling 1:11:09
88 William Tiball (GBr) Great Britain 1:15:19
89 William Bjergfelt (GBr) Swiftcarbon Pro Cycling 1:18:51
90 Oliver Maxwell (GBr) Saint Piran 1:20:11
91 Ross Lamb (GBr) Swiftcarbon Pro Cycling 1:24:13
92 Tom Mazzone (GBr) Saint Piran 1:27:32
93 Max Rushby (GBr) Great Britain 1:28:51
94 Ross Holland (GBr) Saint Piran 1:44:32