Ian Stannard rode away from the field to claim a superb solo victory on stage three of the Tour of Britain.
After quickly establishing a significant lead over his two breakaway colleagues, Stannard continued to drive the pace and did not let up as he entered the final kilometres in Tatton Park.
Stannard, affectionately known as Yogi, was 13:13 down on overnight leader Julien Vermote at the start of the day, so the Etixx-Quickstep rider’s grasp on the yellow jersey was never in doubt, but the Brit’s stage win did move him up to the top 50 in the general classification at the end of the day.
“It was a pretty big day on home roads, so I was pretty motivated for the stage and keen to get away,” said the 29-year-old from Essex.
“It’s always nice to win from a breakaway, and a solo as well, I really enjoyed it.
“I knew I wanted to go over the top of the Cat and Fiddle with about five minutes, that gave us a chance on the run in.
“There were some really awesome crowds out today, the roads were packed on all the climbs so it was really great to see everyone get behind the race and it makes it pretty special racing at home.”
Stannard’s fellow Brit Steve Cummings, of Dimension Data, remains second in the overall standings as the peloton prepare to tackle a 217km stage from Denbigh to Builth Wells, on Wednesday.
Sportsbeat 2016