Hayter edged out of lead atop Great Orme

Ethan Hayter put in a gutsy but measured ride on the slopes of the Great Orme as he was forced to narrowly relinquish the Tour of Britain leader’s jersey.

 

The Brit set his own tempo on the steep final climb in Wales, finishing fifth as Wout Van Aert won the stage. Bonus seconds saw the Belgian elevated into the race lead by a slender two-second margin over Hayter.
 
The INEOS Grenadiers had set an impressive tempo on the Marine Drive run into Llandudno, after helping to set the pace for much of the stage.
 
Hayter was initially distanced but made his way back to his rivals with 300 metres to go, before a final acceleration saw Van Aert and Julian Alaphilippe duke it out for stage honours.

 

Hayter still retained hold of the blue points jersey at the race’s halfway point. Rohan Dennis also held on well up the steep gradients to remain in sixth place overall.