Tour of Britain 2008 - 6

Stage 6 Newcastle/Gateshead - Stages / Teams

Italian Alessandro Petacchi took his second victory in this year’s Tour of Britain, powering clear of Rob Hayles and fellow double stage winner Edvald Boasson Hagen in a nail biting finale on the banks of the River Tyne.

Further back a split in the peloton as they crossed the river caused several of the overall contenders to lose time, including Briton’s Ian Stannard and Daniel Fleeman, who both lost five seconds, as did Petacchi’s teammate Gabriele Bosisio.

After leaving a packed Darlington at 10.15, action started immediately, with three riders going clear inside the first kilometre. Bradley McGee joined British pair Peter Williams and Evan Oliphant, and the trio wasted no time in building their lead as The Tour of Britain passed through Sedgefield.

With almost ten miles of racing under their wheels, Barloworld’s Diego Caccia made the junction and helped the group build their lead to over five minutes as the race passed through Durham.

By the foot of the day’s first E.ON King of the Mountains climb to Langley the quartet had an advantage of nearly six and a half minutes, but by the time they crossed the summit it was down to six minutes and falling all the time.

As the crossed into Northumberland and crossed the River Tyne to begin the climb of High Barns the chase was on, with Agritubel leading the peloton and looking to keep the break within range.

A short descent led into another climb, sapping the legs of the escapees as they entered a technical section of twisty lanes that saw their lead cut beyond the three-minute mark.

This was down to just over a two-minute margin as the break rolled through the Hot Spot Sprint at Morpeth, the four riders more concerned with maintaining their lead rather than contesting the points on offer.

The lead was continually falling as LPR and Garmin – Chipotle led the chase out to the coast at Blythe, where the race was welcomed by heavy rain making for slippery conditions for the riders.

Caccia was the first to fall foul of the rain, crashing on a left turn and going down heavily. The Italian remounted and carried on, but was soon caught, while back in the bunch several other riders came down too.

McGee, Oliphant and Williams were now proceeding with extreme caution on the corners, causing their lead to be cut dramatically as the race passed through Whitley Bay and down to the banks of the River Tyne.

With now just a narrow 20 second advantage, Williams attacked but was brought back by his two fellow break-away companions. As the gap continued to narrow on the run through the city towards the finish line the Pinarello rider tried to get away once more, but again without any luck.

CSC’s McGee then took his turn to jump as the front of a fast splintering peloton caught the break, but the Australian could never make more than 100 metres headway from the Barloworld led bunch.

With McGee reeled in, what was left of the field came together for a fast final four kilometres through Newcastle, first dropping down onto the northern quayside before crossing over the swing bridge and lining up for the sprint towards the Millennium Bridge.

British champion Hayles was the first to go, but while he held off Thursday’s stage winner Boasson Hagen, he could do nothing about Petacchi, as the LPR rider took his second win on the banks of a river in a week.

Marking a good day for the Pinarello RT – Candi TV team, Russell Downing and Malcolm Elliott rounded out the top five, while Williams’ prize for his efforts was the Madison Combativity Award.

Yellow Jersey Lequatre finished one place ahead of nearest rival Cummings in the front group of 18 riders to hold onto his lead, while Petacchi retook the Green Jersey from Matt Goss thanks to his win.

Di Luca keeps hold of the Sprints Jersey, as does Ben Swift with the E.ON King of the Mountains Jersey.

Alessandro Petacchi said- “The sprint today was very difficult because it was so wet out on the course. Rob Hayles was really going well but thankfully I just managed to pip him."

"In Italy they have a saying that there is no two without three, so I would really like to make it a third stage win in Liverpool on Sunday.  I think it will be another sprint finish there so it should be good for me.
Hopefully there won't be any rain there though, because that made it difficult for me today but I managed to get round and I was happy to get the win.”

More to follow

1 141 Alessandro Petacchi, LPR LPR Brakes - Ballan 3h45'09"
2 21 Rob Hayles, GBR Great Britain 3h45'09"
3 12 Edval Boasson Hagen, THR Team Columbia 3h45'09"
4 41 Russell Downing, POT Pinarello RT - Candi TV 3h45'09"
5 42 Malcolm Elliott, POT Pinarello RT - Candi TV 3h45'09"
6 25 Ben Swift, GBR Great Britain 3h45'09"
7 113 Jonathan Bellis, CSC Team CSC - Saxo Bank 3h45'09"
8 1 Romain Feillu, AGR Agritubel 3h45'09"
9 125 Kenny Lisabeth, SKT An Post M.Donnelly 3h45'09"
10 95 Chris Sutton, TSL Garmin - Chipotle 3h45'09"
11 135 Juan Van Heerden, MTN MTN Energade 3h45'09"
12 94 Daniel Martin, TSL Garmin - Chipotle 3h45'09"
13 5 Geoffroy Lequarte, AGR Agritubel 3h45'09"
14 61 Steve Cummings, BAR Barloworld 3h45'09"
15 53 Dean Downing, RCR Rapha - Condor - Recycling.co. 3h45'09"
16 34 Alejandro Marque Porto, PRT Palmeiras Resort - Tavira 3h45'09"
17 112 Matthew Goss, CSC Team CSC - Saxo Bank 3h45'09"
18 75 Fred Rodriguez, RRC Rock Racing 3h45'09"
19 52 Dale Appleby, RCR Rapha - Condor - Recycling.co. 3h45'14" @05"
20 111 Stuart O'Grady, CSC Team CSC - Saxo Bank 3h45'14" @ s/t
21 55 Kristian House, RCR Rapha - Condor - Recycling.co. 3h45'14" @ s/t
22 35 Paul Sneeboer, PRT Palmeiras Resort - Tavira 3h45'14" @ s/t
23 15 Vicente Reynes, THR Team Columbia 3h45'14" @ s/t
24 121 Daniel Lloyd, SKT An Post M.Donnelly 3h45'14" @ s/t
25 123 Benny De Schrooder, SKT An Post M.Donnelly 3h45'14" @ s/t
26 124 Daniel Fleeman, SKT An Post M.Donnelly 3h45'14" @ s/t
27 106 Frederik Veuchelen, TSV Topsport Vlaanderen 3h45'14" @ s/t
28 23 Ian Stannard, GBR Great Britain 3h45'14" @ s/t
29 84 Simon Gaywood, PCA Plowman Craven RT 3h45'14" @ s/t
30 156 Johnnie Walker, AIS SouthAustralia.com - AIS 3h45'14" @ s/t
31 2 Emilien Berges, AGR Agritubel 3h45'14" @ s/t
32 131 David George, MTN MTN Energade 3h45'14" @ s/t
33 86 Simon Richardson, PCA Plowman Craven RT 3h45'14" @ s/t
34 132 Kevin Evans, MTN MTN Energade 3h45'14" @ s/t
35 104 Kristof Vandewalle, TSV Topsport Vlaanderen 3h45'14" @ s/t
36 144 Gabriele Bosisio, LPR LPR Brakes - Ballan 3h45'14" @ s/t
37 74 Victor Pena, Hugo RRC Rock Racing 3h45'20" @11"
38 76 Oscar Sevilla, RRC Rock Racing 3h45'20" @ s/t
39 73 Santiago Botero, RRC Rock Racing 3h45'20" @ s/t
40 151 Simon Clarke, AIS SouthAustralia.com - AIS 3h45'20" @ s/t
41 13 Roger Hammond, THR Team Columbia 3h45'21" @12"
42 14 Greg Henderson, THR Team Columbia 3h45'21" @ s/t
43 93 Julian Dean, TSL Garmin - Chipotle 3h45'37" @28"
44 155 Wesley Sulzberger, AIS SouthAustralia.com - AIS 3h45'48" @39"
45 11 Kim Kirchen, THR Team Columbia 3h45'48" @ s/t
46 3 Steven Caethoven, AGR Agritubel 3h45'59" @50"
47 62 Geraint Thomas, BAR Barloworld 3h46'05" @56"
48 103 Serge Pauwels, TSV Topsport Vlaanderen 3h46'18" @01'09"
49 46 Peter Williams, POT Pinarello RT - Candi TV 3h46'33" @01'24"
50 101 Kristof Goddaert, TSV Topsport Vlaanderen 3h46'42" @01'33"
51 71 Tyler Hamilton, RRC Rock Racing 3h46'49" @01'40"
52 152 Zakkari Dempster, AIS SouthAustralia.com - AIS 3h45'09"
53 44 Tom Murray, POT Pinarello RT - Candi TV 3h46'49" @01'40"
54 66 Hugo Sabido, BAR Barloworld 3h46'49" @ s/t
55 64 Robbie Hunter, BAR Barloworld 3h46'55" @01'46"
56 65 Daryl Impey, BAR Barloworld 3h46'55" @ s/t
57 22 Jonathan McEvoy, GBR Great Britain 3h45'09"
58 56 Rob Partridge, RCR Rapha - Condor - Recycling.co. 3h46'55" @01'46"
59 105 Pieter Vanspeybrouck, TSV Topsport Vlaanderen 3h47'23" @02'14"
60 81 Evan Oliphant, PCA Plowman Craven RT 3h47'25" @02'16"
61 92 Magnus Backstedt, TSL Garmin - Chipotle 3h47'25" @ s/t
62 82 Tom Barras, PCA Plowman Craven RT 3h47'48" @02'39"
63 115 Bradley McGee, CSC Team CSC - Saxo Bank 3h48'12" @03'03"
64 32 David Blanco-Rodriguez, PRT Palmeiras Resort - Tavira 3h48'42" @03'33"
65 145 Giairo Ermeti, LPR LPR Brakes - Ballan 3h48'47" @03'38"
66 136 Waylon Woolcock, MTN MTN Energade 3h49'17" @04'08"
67 122 Stephen Gallagher, SKT An Post M.Donnelly 3h49'21" @04'12"
68 4 Freddy Bichot, AGR Agritubel 3h49'28" @04'19"
69 26 Andrew Tennant, GBR Great Britain 3h51'26" @06'17"
70 16 Bradley Wiggins, THR Team Columbia 3h51'26" @ s/t
71 43 Lee Davis, POT Pinarello RT - Candi TV 3h51'26" @ s/t
72 85 James Millard, PCA Plowman Craven RT 3h52'15" @07'06"
73 116 Chris Sorensen, CSC Team CSC - Saxo Bank 3h53'27" @08'18"
74 96 Trent Lowe, TSL Garmin - Chipotle 3h53'27" @ s/t
75 91 David Millar, TSL Garmin - Chipotle 3h53'27" @ s/t
76 51 Chris Newton, RCR Rapha - Condor - Recycling.co. 3h53'27" @ s/t
77 45 Andrew Roche, POT Pinarello RT - Candi TV 3h53'27" @ s/t
78 24 Tom Southam, GBR Great Britain 3h53'27" @ s/t
79 6 Nicolas Vogondy, AGR Agritubel 3h53'27" @ s/t
80 134 Jay Thomson, MTN MTN Energade 3h53'27" @ s/t
81 146 Alessandro Spezialetti, LPR LPR Brakes - Ballan 3h53'27" @ s/t
82 133 Neil MacDonald, MTN MTN Energade 3h53'27" @ s/t
83 142 Danilo Di Luca, LPR LPR Brakes - Ballan 3h53'27" @ s/t
84 102 Koen Barbe, TSV Topsport Vlaanderen 3h53'27" @ s/t
85 143 Claudio Cucinotta, LPR LPR Brakes - Ballan 3h54'17" @09'08"
86 154 Travis Meyer, AIS SouthAustralia.com - AIS 3h54'17" @ s/t
87 36 Tomas Swift-Metcalfe, PRT Palmeiras Resort - Tavira 3h56'50" @11'41"
88 153 Cameron Meyer, AIS SouthAustralia.com - AIS 3h56'50" @ s/t
89 63 Diego Caccia, BAR Barloworld 3h56'50" @ s/t

General Classification
1 5 Geoffroy Lequarte, AGR Agritubel 21h14'49"
2 61 Steve Cummings, BAR Barloworld 21h14'55" @06"
3 94 Daniel Martin, TSL Garmin - Chipotle 21h15'03" @14"
4 144 Gabriele Bosisio, LPR LPR Brakes - Ballan 21h15'04" @15"
5 23 Ian Stannard, GBR Great Britain 21h15'05" @16"
6 124 Daniel Fleeman, SKT An Post M.Donnelly 21h15'07" @18"
7 123 Benny De Schrooder, SKT An Post M.Donnelly 21h15'08" @19"
8 106 Frederik Veuchelen, TSV Topsport Vlaanderen 21h15'17" @28"
9 2 Emilien Berges, AGR Agritubel 21h15'29" @40"
10 41 Russell Downing, POT Pinarello RT - Candi TV 21h16'13" @01'24"
11 34 Alejandro Marque Porto, PRT Palmeiras Resort - Tavira 21h16'36" @01'47"
12 113 Jonathan Bellis, CSC Team CSC - Saxo Bank 21h16'38" @01'49"
13 55 Kristian House, RCR Rapha - Condor - Recycling.co. 21h16'38" = s/t
14 13 Roger Hammond, THR Team Columbia 21h16'41" @01'52"
15 131 David George, MTN MTN Energade 21h16'43" @01'54"
16 95 Chris Sutton, TSL Garmin - Chipotle 21h16'48" @01'59"
17 86 Simon Richardson, PCA Plowman Craven RT 21h16'53" @02'04"
18 104 Kristof Vandewalle, TSV Topsport Vlaanderen 21h17'37" @02'48"
19 132 Kevin Evans, MTN MTN Energade 21h18'20" @03'31"
20 66 Hugo Sabido, BAR Barloworld 21h19'24" @04'35"
21 24 Tom Southam, GBR Great Britain 21h25'23" @10'34"
22 12 Edval Boasson Hagen, THR Team Columbia 21h26'41" @11'52"
23 112 Matthew Goss, CSC Team CSC - Saxo Bank 21h27'04" @12'15"
24 141 Alessandro Petacchi, LPR LPR Brakes - Ballan 21h27'24" @12'35"
25 42 Malcolm Elliott, POT Pinarello RT - Candi TV 21h27'35" @12'46"
26 121 Daniel Lloyd, SKT An Post M.Donnelly 21h27'37" @12'48"
27 25 Ben Swift, GBR Great Britain 21h27'40" @12'51"
28 15 Vicente Reynes, THR Team Columbia 21h27'40" = s/t
29 93 Julian Dean, TSL Garmin - Chipotle 21h27'49" @13'00"
30 156 Johnnie Walker, AIS SouthAustralia.com - AIS 21h28'06" @13'17"
31 151 Simon Clarke, AIS SouthAustralia.com - AIS 21h28'42" @13'53"
32 73 Santiago Botero, RRC Rock Racing 21h28'42" = s/t
33 101 Kristof Goddaert, TSV Topsport Vlaanderen 21h29'00" @14'11"
34 11 Kim Kirchen, THR Team Columbia 21h29'10" @14'21"
35 103 Serge Pauwels, TSV Topsport Vlaanderen 21h29'20" @14'31"
36 81 Evan Oliphant, PCA Plowman Craven RT 21h30'08" @15'19"
37 56 Rob Partridge, RCR Rapha - Condor - Recycling.co. 21h30'26" @15'37"
38 145 Giairo Ermeti, LPR LPR Brakes - Ballan 21h31'08" @16'19"
39 1 Romain Feillu, AGR Agritubel 21h31'09" @16'20"
40 105 Pieter Vanspeybrouck, TSV Topsport Vlaanderen 21h32'04" @17'15"
41 136 Waylon Woolcock, MTN MTN Energade 21h32'20" @17'31"
42 22 Jonathan McEvoy, GBR Great Britain 21h32'31" @17'42"
43 3 Steven Caethoven, AGR Agritubel 21h32'39" @17'50"
44 32 David Blanco-Rodriguez, PRT Palmeiras Resort - Tavira 21h33'04" @18'15"
45 75 Fred Rodriguez, RRC Rock Racing 21h33'21" @18'32"
46 44 Tom Murray, POT Pinarello RT - Candi TV 21h33'40" @18'51"
47 111 Stuart O'Grady, CSC Team CSC - Saxo Bank 21h33'56" @19'07"
48 4 Freddy Bichot, AGR Agritubel 21h34'46" @19'57"
49 142 Danilo Di Luca, LPR LPR Brakes - Ballan 21h35'23" @20'34"
50 46 Peter Williams, POT Pinarello RT - Candi TV 21h35'40" @20'51"
51 116 Chris Sorensen, CSC Team CSC - Saxo Bank 21h35'53" @21'04"
52 122 Stephen Gallagher, SKT An Post M.Donnelly 21h36'52" @22'03"
53 35 Paul Sneeboer, PRT Palmeiras Resort - Tavira 21h37'33" @22'44"
54 146 Alessandro Spezialetti, LPR LPR Brakes - Ballan 21h38'09" @23'20"
55 154 Travis Meyer, AIS SouthAustralia.com - AIS 21h38'11" @23'22"
56 26 Andrew Tennant, GBR Great Britain 21h38'35" @23'46"
57 135 Juan Van Heerden, MTN MTN Energade 21h39'00" @24'11"
58 76 Oscar Sevilla, RRC Rock Racing 21h39'17" @24'28"
59 152 Zakkari Dempster, AIS SouthAustralia.com - AIS 21h39'31" @24'42"
60 21 Rob Hayles, GBR Great Britain 21h39'51" @25'02"
61 14 Greg Henderson, THR Team Columbia 21h39'56" @25'07"
62 125 Kenny Lisabeth, SKT An Post M.Donnelly 21h40'05" @25'16"
63 52 Dale Appleby, RCR Rapha - Condor - Recycling.co. 21h40'10" @25'21"
64 155 Wesley Sulzberger, AIS SouthAustralia.com - AIS 21h40'52" @26'03"
65 43 Lee Davis, POT Pinarello RT - Candi TV 21h41'01" @26'12"
66 63 Diego Caccia, BAR Barloworld 21h41'23" @26'34"
67 71 Tyler Hamilton, RRC Rock Racing 21h41'26" @26'37"
68 65 Daryl Impey, BAR Barloworld 21h41'28" @26'39"
69 74 Victor Pena, Hugo RRC Rock Racing 21h41'34" @26'45"
70 64 Robbie Hunter, BAR Barloworld 21h42'05" @27'16"
71 62 Geraint Thomas, BAR Barloworld 21h42'08" @27'19"
72 96 Trent Lowe, TSL Garmin - Chipotle 21h42'09" @27'20"
73 92 Magnus Backstedt, TSL Garmin - Chipotle 21h42'17" @27'28"
74 53 Dean Downing, RCR Rapha - Condor - Recycling.co. 21h42'39" @27'50"
75 115 Bradley McGee, CSC Team CSC - Saxo Bank 21h43'11" @28'22"
76 82 Tom Barras, PCA Plowman Craven RT 21h44'55" @30'06"
77 16 Bradley Wiggins, THR Team Columbia 21h47'11" @32'22"
78 85 James Millard, PCA Plowman Craven RT 21h48'05" @33'16"
79 133 Neil MacDonald, MTN MTN Energade 21h48'06" @33'17"
80 91 David Millar, TSL Garmin - Chipotle 21h48'16" @33'27"
81 6 Nicolas Vogondy, AGR Agritubel 21h48'28" @33'39"
82 51 Chris Newton, RCR Rapha - Condor - Recycling.co. 21h48'37" @33'48"
83 134 Jay Thomson, MTN MTN Energade 21h50'26" @35'37"
84 143 Claudio Cucinotta, LPR LPR Brakes - Ballan 21h50'35" @35'46"
85 102 Koen Barbe, TSV Topsport Vlaanderen 21h51'41" @36'52"
86 153 Cameron Meyer, AIS SouthAustralia.com - AIS 21h51'49" @37'00"
87 36 Tomas Swift-Metcalfe, PRT Palmeiras Resort - Tavira 21h54'13" @39'24"
88 84 Simon Gaywood, PCA Plowman Craven RT 21h55'53" @41'04"
89 45 Andrew Roche, POT Pinarello RT - Candi TV 22h06'14" @51'25"

Points
1 141 A Petacchi, LPR 44
2 12 E Boasson Hagen, THR 43
3 112 M Goss, CSC 39
4 13 R Hammond, THR 39
5 93 J Dean, TSL 37
6 101 K Goddaert, TSV 31
7 113 J Bellis, CSC 30
8 21 R Hayles, GBR 30
9 41 R Downing, POT 27
10 53 D Downing, RCR 27
11 142 D Di Luca, LPR 26
12 25 B Swift, GBR 25
13 5 G Lequarte, AGR 24
14 95 C Sutton, TSL 22
15 42 M Elliott, POT 22
16 61 S Cummings, BAR 20
17 144 G Bosisio, LPR 20
18 145 G Ermeti, LPR 19
19 94 D Martin, TSL 16
20 2 E Berges, AGR 15
21 152 Z Dempster, AIS 15
22 92 M Backstedt, TSL 13
23 123 B De Schrooder, SKT 12
24 1 R Feillu, AGR 12
25 74 V Pena, RRC 12
26 14 G Henderson, THR 11
27 64 R Hunter, BAR 11
28 23 I Stannard, GBR 10
29 106 F Veuchelen, TSV 10
30 125 K Lisabeth, SKT 9

Sprints
1 142 D Di Luca, LPR 17
2 145 G Ermeti, LPR 15
3 12 E Boasson Hagen, THR 13
4 63 D Caccia, BAR 12
5 46 P Williams, POT 11
6 65 D Impey, BAR 10
7 112 M Goss, CSC 9
8 81 E Oliphant, PCA 9
9 95 C Sutton, TSL 9
10 5 G Lequarte, AGR 8
11 41 R Downing, POT 8
12 25 B Swift, GBR 7
13 4 F Bichot, AGR 6
14 61 S Cummings, BAR 5
15 23 I Stannard, GBR 5
16 76 O Sevilla, RRC 5
17 74 V Pena, RRC 4
18 154 T Meyer, AIS 4
19 132 K Evans, MTN 3
20 75 F Rodriguez, RRC 3
21 21 R Hayles, GBR 3
22 155 W Sulzberger, AIS 3
23 103 S Pauwels, TSV 3
24 1 R Feillu, AGR 3
25 115 B McGee, CSC 3
26 124 D Fleeman, SKT 2
27 2 E Berges, AGR 2
28 15 V Reynes, THR 2
29 123 B De Schrooder, SKT 1
30 13 R Hammond, THR 1
31 151 S Clarke, AIS 1
32 73 S Botero, RRC 1

Mountains
1 25 B Swift, GBR 29
2 55 K House, RCR 19
3 142 D Di Luca, LPR 19
4 61 S Cummings, BAR 15
5 5 G Lequarte, AGR 14
6 12 E Boasson Hagen, THR 11
7 103 S Pauwels, TSV 11
8 66 H Sabido, BAR 10
9 23 I Stannard, GBR 9
10 124 D Fleeman, SKT 8
11 131 D George, MTN 8
12 112 M Goss, CSC 8
13 121 D Lloyd, SKT 8
14 74 V Pena, RRC 7
15 46 P Williams, POT 7
16 81 E Oliphant, PCA 6
17 24 T Southam, GBR 6
18 144 G Bosisio, LPR 5
19 145 G Ermeti, LPR 5
20 155 W Sulzberger, AIS 5
21 63 D Caccia, BAR 5
22 41 R Downing, POT 4
23 94 D Martin, TSL 4
24 154 T Meyer, AIS 4
25 132 K Evans, MTN 3
26 4 F Bichot, AGR 3
27 91 D Millar, TSL 3
28 36 T Swift-Metcalfe, PRT 3
29 2 E Berges, AGR 2
30 15 V Reynes, THR 2
31 156 J Walker, AIS 2
32 115 B McGee, CSC 2
33 113 J Bellis, CSC 1
34 95 C Sutton, TSL 1
35 93 J Dean, TSL 1
36 111 S O'Grady, CSC 1
37 76 O Sevilla, RRC 1