Being known as an excellent time triallist, Manuele Boaro was one of the big favourites to win the Tour of Denmark time trial but the race leader could only manage 8th. Admitting that he is getting tired, he hopes to defend the lead in tomorrow's final stage.

Having shown great condition in the queen stage, Manuele Boaro was an obvious candidate to win the time trial in the Tour of Denmark and things looked good when he set the second best time at the time check. However, he faded in the finale and had to settle for 8th.

He may have missed the stage win but it was still mission accomplished for the Italian. His main goal was to defend the overall lead which he did.

"The first part of the stage went well but in the end I was very tired so I hope to be ready for tomorrow's stage," he told Ritzau. " I really hope to cross the line as the overall winner. Both for myself and the rest of the team. That will be my first big victory so I am very happy."

Boaro's teammate Christopher Juul finished third on the stage and moved into third in the overall standings.

“It was a great day for me on the course and the legs were full of energy," he said. "If I can maintain this position, it would be the high point of my career so far. However, I can’t start concluding anything before tomorrow’s stage is over. The wind could be a factor tomorrow and our main target is of course the overall win for Manuele."

“Manuele did a solid time trial and now still leads with a margin of 8-10 seconds while Chris Juul probably moves up to third overall," sports director Lars Michaelsen said. "Finishing the race with two guys on the podium will be a great result but we have to stay focused. If it remains this windy, we’re going to have fierce crosswinds throughout the stage and then anything might happen."