Tour of Britain 2023 – Stage 8 [LAST 15 KM]

September 10, 2023

Tour of Britain 2023 🇬🇧 – Stage 8 – Margam Country Park – Caerphilly : 166,8 km

The Tour of Britain is the UK’s most established stage-race and one of the biggest chances for semi-professional domestic riders to race alongside some of the top names in the pro peloton. If a young Brit on a domestic squad can perform well here they may just secure a place on a WorldTour team for the following year. As a result stakes are often high in this race, creating a dogged fight all the way from the start to the finish. Formerly known as the Milk Race, this eight-day event has been through many iterations throughout its 77-year history, with some editions being held exclusively for amateur riders. In the late 80s and 90s the race started to open the door to more professional riders, leading to large pelotons consisting of amateur riders desperate for a pro contract, and professional riders looking to get through the stages in one piece.

Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) secured overall victory at the Tour of Britain with a calculated and hugely impressive ride on the final hilly stage in south Wales.

The Belgian was attacked and isolated but kept his cool, chased hard, controlled his closest rivals and did enough to win the red, white and blue jersey.

Spain’s Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) stayed away to win the stage after making a 50km attack, but he started the day 39 seconds down on Van Aert.

Van Aert led home the chasers and finished just 11 seconds behind him to win the Tour of Britain by just three seconds ahead of Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X), with Damien Howson (Q36.5) finishing third on the stage and overall, also at three seconds.

The USA’s Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers) was fourth overall, also at three seconds and stage placings.

“I have to thank the team for this win,” Van Aert said. “When Rodriguez attacked with 50km to go, I didn’t think I could win the GC, but then my teammates came back up to me and made all the difference.

“We knew the guys away were climbers, and they would suffer on the flat roads to the finish, then I had to believe that I could give it everything twice on the climb. I did, and it worked out.”

HOW IT UNFOLDED
After a week of sprint finishes, the Tour of Britain headed to south Wales for the final stage and hilly showdown in the valleys near Caerphilly.

The two climbs of Caerphilly Mountain came late in the stage, but the attacks came early in the valleys, with Oliver Wood (Great Britain), Max Walker (Trinity Racing), Casper Van Uden (Team DSM-firmenich), Abram Stockman (TDT-Unibet), James Fouche (Bolton Equities Black Spoke) and Johan Meens (Bingoal WB).

They opened a gap of 1:30 in the rain, with Jumbo-Visma and then Movistar leading the chase on the flat opening 70km.

A major non-race vehicle incident before the first classified climb meant the race was stopped after 83 km and then diverted via a different route. The riders covered a longer loop in the next valley with a police escort before they returned to the stage route.

After a short pause, the six-rider breakaway was allowed to rebuild their three-minute advantage. However, the delay disrupted the attack and fired up the peloton, with the gap falling quickly to 1:20 on the Rhigos climb as the valley roads began to hurt.

With 55km to go, local resident Luke Rowe upped the pace, and Ineos Grenadiers lined out the peloton as they rode at speed between parked cars. The finale of the race started early.

When the steep Bryn Du climb began, Max Walker was the first to attack, splitting the breakaway. However, the peloton came up quickly as the GC battle exploded. Van Aert was there but was alone, and so Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) and Stevie Williams (Great Britain) attacked together over the top of the climb.

They had a gap of 20 seconds as Van Aert was forced to wait for other riders and precious teammates.

Rodriguez and Williams were initially uncertain if they should ride together. The Spaniard started the stage 36 seconds down on the Welshman and would have to distance him massively to win the overall classification of the Tour of Britain. Their tactics didn’t tally as Williams appeared to struggle on the climb, but they pressed on.

The two extended their lead to over a minute on the road towards Caerphilly, but the peloton never gave up the chase as the strongest and GC contenders finally emerged. Jumbo-Visma and then Q36.5 did a lot of the chasing.

As the riders passed through the finish before the two climbs of Caerphilly Mountain, Rodriguez and Williams led by just 15 seconds.

Caerphilly Mountain is only 1.7km long but climbs at 8.5%. That and the earlier effort cracked Williams, and he was dropped, but Rodriguez pushed on in pursuit of at least a stage victory. Behind, Magnus Sheffield sat on Van Aert’s wheel in defence of his teammate’s attack, but the Belgian seemed determined to give his all to defend his overall race lead.

Rodriguez heard the bell ring out with seven kilometres to go, his lead at only 20 seconds. His chances of overall victory were fading, but he could perhaps still win the stage, and so he fought on, reminding everyone of the determination and talent he showed when he won stage 14 at the Tour de France to Morzine in the Alps.

Van Aert chased on the front, aware that he had a 39-second advantage on Rodriguez but that other riders could attack him.

He carefully paced his effort on the climb, going deep to dissuade attacks, and then other riders helped with the chase of Rodriguez as the battle for the podium places began.

Rodriguez stayed clear to win the stage, but the chasers were just behind him, with Van Aert winning the sprint for second to seal a calculated but well-deserved overall victory.

Results :

Final General Classification :