Brandle Wins Tour Of Britain Stage Five

11 September 2014 04:58

IAM Cycling's Matthias Brandle has won the fifth stage of the Tour Of Britain.

Michal Kwiatkowski was in the lead for this 177.3km stage from Exmouth to Exeter which saw Andreas Stauff (MTN), Mattias Brandle (IAM), Marten Wynants (BEL) and Shane Archbold (An Post) on the attack straight away.

Wynants took the first Yodel sprint of the day as the quartet took a lead of 1.30 but was fourth on the KOM climb at Mamhead after 38.1km which saw An Post's Shane Archbold take the six points on offer.

At the second Yodel Sprint point at Chudleigh, Andreas Stauff of MTM Qhubeka took the three points and then took ten KOM points for being first over the climb at Haytor with Mark McNally picking up six points to keep him in the KOM jersey for another day.

The front four had a lead of 2.27 with 90kms of racing left in the stage and that had dropped by a minute with forty kilometres later.

The quartet were not giving in easily and they worked together and got their lead back to 2.31 with 28kms left.

At Crediton, there was the final sprint which Brandle won, ensuring that Seb Lander who has suffered a mechanical was in the sprints jersey for another day.

Stauff, Brandle Wynants Archbold were 1.27 clear going into the last ten kilometres, and heading for the final climb at Stoke Hill.

Tinkoff Saxo were on the front of the peloton, working for Nicholas Roche and then Omega Pharma Quick Step along with Giant Shimano came to the fore.

The Stoke Hill climb was 2.1kms long with average gradients of 5% and this allowed the peloton to get within a minute.

With 4.4kms to go, IAM Cycling's Mattias Brandle, the day's combativity winner, went off the front.

A kilometre later, Chris Juul Jensen who has an Irish passport, tried to attack but Nicholas Roche and Lopez of Team Sky went passed him.

Brandle took the climb with a 24 second lead and started onto the descent into Exeter. Under the flam rouge and Brandle was fifty metres ahead of Archibold and Wynants.

Brandle kept going and he took the win in 4.32.04.with Archibold second with Wynant's in third.Sonny Colbrelli was fourth with Ben Swift of Team Sky fifth and Nicholas Roche in ninth.

Michael Kwiatkowski keeps his leader's jersey with a three second lead from Edorado Zardini and fourteen seconds from Dylan Theuns. Sir Bradley Wiggins stays in sixth placed in an unchanged top ten.

Source: DSG