Edvald Boasson Hagen spent another day in the yellow leader’s jersey today. The 227 kilometer long stage from Fakenham to Ipswich was the longest of this year’s Tour of Britain. With only three category 3 climbs it was a stage for the fast guys. Andre Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) was 1st over the line, beating double-stage winner Elia Viviani (Sky) into 2nd. Boasson Hagen crossed the line in 5th and will ride into London as GC leader.

The stage was animated by a break of 3 riders. Alex Dowsett (Movistar), Graham Briggs (JLT-Condor) and Gabriel Cullaigh (GB National Team) went off early and crossed the halfway point with a lead of over 6 minutes.

Smelling victory Lotto-Soudal picked up the pace in the peloton and managed to bring the gap down to only 4.30 minutes within a couple of kilometers. Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung kept Edvald Boasson Hagen safe. The Norwegian national road race champion punctured around 90 kilometers from the finish. He didn’t panic though and was back near the front only a couple of minutes later.

Eventually the break was caught within the last 20 kilometers. Zdenek Stybar (Etixx-QuickStep) and Rob Partridge (NFTO) were next to attack, but their moves were short lived.

In the end it was Greipel who led the peloton onto the finishing straight. The German sprinter held off Viviani and Sindre Holst Enger (IAM).

“The team did a good job today to help me staying in yellow. We were happy with the early break. None of the riders in there were dangerous, so we were content with the situation. I’m happy to wear the yellow jersey in London tomorrow. It would be nice to win the overall,” Boasson Hagen said.