Lars Petter Nordhaug went into the Tour of Britain with lofty GC goals but the Norwegian has been unable to follow the best on the climbs. Today he bounced back with a solid 5th place in one of the hardest stages.

Lars Petter Nordhaug fought his way to a top ten spot in the Tour of Britain stage seven today. In coastal town of Brighton after 225 kilometres, the Norwegian Belkin Pro Cycling TEAM rider finished fifth behind winner Julien Vermote (Omega Pharma-QuickStep). 

Around twenty seconds after the Belgian won, his two breakaway companions Ignatas Konovalovas (MTN-Qhubeka) and Dylan van Baarle (Garmin-Sharp) battled for second place. Konovalovas won the fight, but the Dutchman Van Baarle could still celebrate because he took enough time to take the overall lead with just one day remaining. 
 

“It was a long day and it’s nice to finish in the top five, but obviously this is not a great result,” said Nordhaug. He ended behind Michal Kwiatkowski in the small group sprint, 1-20 minutes after Vermote finished. 

“The final dash was a good opportunity to practice my sprint. I’m happy with my legs. This was a good preparation for the Worlds.” 
 

Sports Director Jan Boven explained today’s plan.

“We wanted to get someone in the break, but it was total war. Jetse Bol, Bram Tankink and Maarten Wynants tried but failed, unfortunately. 

“After that we focused on assisting Lars Petter in the final. It’s good to see that he’s able to finish fifth. He didn’t make a great start to the race, but he’s showing to be on the right path now.” 

The Tour of Britain will end tomorrow in London with an 8.8-kilometre morning time trial and a criterium in the afternoon. Nordhaug will start the final day 20th overall in the classification.