Tour of Britain 2021 – Stage 8 [LAST 10 KM]

September 12, 2021

Tour of Britain 2021 – Stage 8 – Stonehaven – Aberdeen : 173 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.

Wout Van Aert (Jumbo Visma) won stage 8 and the overall title of the Tour of Britain after an unstoppable sprint win on the final stage in Aberdeen.

The Belgian powered to the line ahead of veteran sprinter Andre Greipel (Israel Start-Up Nation) and Mark Cavendish (QuickStep) to take his fourth stage win of the race and overturn an overnight deficit to Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) to win the overall by just a handful of seconds.

Van Aert came into the stage four seconds down on Hayter and was forced to watch on as a six-man break took all the intermediate sprint points during the stage. The Belgian committed his entire team to the chase and was had to sprint on his own but he latched onto Cavendish’s wheel 10km from the finish. Despite momentarily losing the wheel inside the final 1,000 meters the Jumbo-Visma rider powered clear to take the victory.

If Hayter had finished either first or second on the stage then he would have sealed the overall win but he was briefly boxed in and then simply ran out of legs when Van Aert unleashed his dash for the line.

It looked as though Greipel would take a surprise win in one of his final races before retiring. The German was the first sprint heavyweight to open his acceleration as he powered down the centre of the road but Cavendish and Van Aert were quick to respond with the Belgian coming through to take the honours. As he crossed the line, Van Aert checked back to see where Hayter had finished before realizing that the British all-rounder was out of contention.

Cavendish enjoyed the most complete leadout with the entire QuickStep team put at his disposal. They lost Davide Ballerini to a mechanical inside the closing kilometers but Julian Alaphilippe stepped up and was the last rider to hit the front for Cavendish. However, the Tour de France green jersey winner was caught out by Greipel’s acceleration and simply didn’t have the gas to match Van Aert on the line.

How it unfolded

The final stage of the 2021 Tour of Britain saw another strong breakaway with Jokin Murguialday (Caja Rural), Robin Carpenter (Rally Cycling), Thomas Gloag and Ben Healy (Trinity Racing), Michał Paluta (Global 6 Cycling), and William Bjergfelt (SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling) going clear in the opening kilometres.

The six-rider break built up nearly four minutes after the race rolled out from Stonehaven with Jumbo Visma and QuickStep controlling the pace of the peloton. Both teams were interested in setting up a sprint finish with van Aert after the bonus seconds to win the overall and Cavendish still looking for his first stage win of the race.

With 140km to go the gap stood at 3:39 but the leaders were reduced to five when Bjergfelt was dropped on the tough climb of Cairn o’Mount.

On the next climb of Corsedardar Hill with 114km to go, the gap still stood at 2:35 but with Jumbo Visma committing their entire team to the chase the break’s advantage slowly dwindled. With 50km to go the five riders had 1:49 but they lost Paluta in the closing stages as Healy impressed with some huge turns on the front.

With 10km to go the gap stood at just 17 seconds before Ballerini had a flat and a crash with 6.5km to go saw a number of riders fall and lose contention with the peloton. Healy and Carpenter were the last riders to be caught with just over 4km to go before Alex Dowsett took off with 2,000m remaining.

Movistar brought the former UCI Hour Record holder back before the sprint teams lined out on the front. He may not have had any teammates but Van Aert surfed the wheels before latching onto Cavendish and making use of the British rider’s superior leadout. Hayter had been yo-yo-ing near the front but was well placed as the sprint opened up but it was Van Aert who had the power and the composure to seal his fourth stage win and the overall.

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

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