In the Tour of Britain the sixth stage was scheduled yesterday, from Stoke-on-Trent to Nottingham (192.7km).

There were several attacks in the beginning of the race. 30 riders were in front, the rest of the peloton had an easy ride and arrived 45 minutes after the winner. Soon, it was clear that the victory would go to one of the leaders.

First eight riders attacked, but four of them were distanced. Tankink and Jens Debusschere bridged, so there were six riders in front, 42 chasers and a grupetto. The advantage was between 30 seconds and 1’30”. In the finale Debusschere, Trentin, Izagirre and Kueng left the others behind, but the chasers didn’t let them go. Trentin started a solo 4 kilometres from the finish, Boasson Hagen closed the gap and in the sprint Trentin turned out to be the fastest. Jens Debusschere sprinted to fifth place.

"The stage looked like a classic. Right from the start we raced at a high speed and the peloton fell apart. We were in front with thirty riders and together with Tankink I could bridge to some others who had taken off earlier," he said. "Sky controlled, so we never had much advantage, but everybody did his part of the job. When we got into the finale and were only left with four, the others didn’t want to ride to the finish line with me. Trentin attacked and stayed in front.

"In the last days I had some bad luck in the sprints, but today’s stage proves the condition is good. It has been a pretty long time since my last victory so I hope to show myself in the last races of the season. Tomorrow we’ll presumably aim for the stage win with André, considering I will be a bit tired after this stage.”