Wout Poels pulled off a heroic victory on the queen stage at the Tour of Britain to move within a second of the overall lead.

The Dutchman attacked repeatedly on the first-category summit finish of Hartside Fell, mounting a late charge to overhaul Edvald Boasson Hagen and win the stage by two seconds in a thrilling finish.

Team Sky worked hard all day to set up Poels and paced the peloton for much of the 166.4-kilometre test ahead of a third stage win in five days.

After work from Andy Fenn, Ian Stannard and Elia Viviani on the front it was Ben Swift who led Poels onto the final climb, setting a strong tempo in the face of attacks. Pete Kennaugh then hit out to significantly thin the bunch, before Poels jumped clear for the first time with 3.5km to go.

Boasson Hagen (MTN-Qhubeka) clawed his way back into the mix and attacked Poels heading into the final kilometre. Despite a gap opening up in front of him, the Team Sky man wasn't finished and found new reserves, catching his rival with 50 metres to go and accelerating hard to win the stage.

That grandstand finish saw the general classification close up significantly, with Poels now sitting just one second off Boasson Hagen with three stages to go.

Behind the podium a happy Poels said: "It was really nice to win and the team have been working really hard today and also in the stages before. I just closed the gap - Boasson Hagen was really strong but it's a really nice win.

"It was pretty close at 500 meters, I thought I was going to be second, but then he slowed down a little bit, and I thought, 'I have to take this chance'. I knew we had headwind until the last 500m and then it was crosswind, so the last three kilometers were quite hard.

"I have to say when Boasson Hagen attacked the last time, it was a really strong one. I didn't know if I could catch him, but I was lucky with the wind.

"It would be nice if I can take time, but he showed he's in good shape in the climbs. It's going to be a hard battle.

"It's pretty nice - especially now I ride for Team Sky on a home race in the UK. The people are great and they really support us. It's great to win and see all the people.

"It's my second victory at the Tour of Britain. I think [last time] it was 2010, my second victory as a pro. Now I'm here again. Hopefully we can take the jersey. It will be difficult but there's still three days left.

"It's always nice to go for your own chance and not work for someone else. When you go to Team Sky, and especially to the Tour de France, you know you have to work for Chris. It's really nice now to go for stage victories and GC for myself, so I'm really enjoying this race. It's a home race for Sky and it's nice to do.

"I think Boasson Hagen is a good sprinter, so it's going to be hard for me. Tomorrow is a hard stage also, so we'll see. Every day here is up and down, it's hard everywhere. We have to see what the sport directors have in the plan. Three days left and one second, it's not really a lot. It can be enough for Boasson Hagen, but I'm going to do my best."