The final stage in Tour de Yorkshire was animated by the day’s break. Team Giant-Alpecin had the stage victory within reach for the second day in a row, as Lawson Craddock was caught back far in the finale to finish 22th.

Lots of crowds along the roads saw Lawson and seven fellow breakaway companions spending their day in the front. With 15km to go he appeared to be the strongest of the group and went for it solo, while the bunch was thinned out by the efforts of GC leading Team Sky.

With an ultimate attack, Belgian Ben Hermans (BMC Racing Team) overtook Craddock with 5km to go and soloed to the finish. In the sprint for second, Craddock was caught back by the reduced bunch and finished 22th.

Lars Petter Nordhaug (Team Sky) took the overall win in the first Tour de Yorkshire. Lars van der Haar was the highest ranked rider for the team in the GC at 30th.

Coach Marc Reef said.

“It was another tough day. Lawson did a very good job but unfortunately it was not enough for the win. After Bert’s [De Backer] close call of yesterday we fully went for it again today. It is a pity that we didn’t got rewarded with the stage win after being so close for the second day in a row.”