Stevie Williams (Israel-Premier Tech) became the first Brit since Steve Cummings in 2016 to win the Tour of Britain, securing the overall by 16 seconds ahead of Oscar Onley (dsm-firmenich PostNL).
After a frantic final day of racing in Suffolk, Matevž Govekar emerged victorious on the streets of Felixstowe in a reduced bunch sprint. The Bahrain Victorious rider led the sprint out from the front and held off the rest of the sprinters behind to take the win.
The race had split early on, as a group of around 30 riders gained separation from the rest of the peloton with many riders including points classification leader Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) caught out. All of the main general classification contenders were present at the front though and their teams worked hard to increase the gap on those behind them.
There were some attempts to go clear late on, with Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) trying three times in the final 25km. However, a move failed to materialise, as he was shut down by the teams in the main group, eventually admitting defeat and settling back into the bunch.
In the final sprint, Rasmus Pedersen (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Development Team) and Ben Swift (Ineos Grenadiers) came closest to challenging Govekar, but they had left it too late to come around the Slovenian rider, who claimed just the third professional victory of his career.
Ethan Vernon was also well-positioned in the finale after his Israel-Premier Tech team had controlled the stage for overall leader Williams. However, after a strong leadout he was unable to fully launch his sprint after failing to find the right gear in the final few hundred metres and he ultimately finished in fourth place.
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a lively start to the final stage of the race as Jacob Scott (REMBE Pro Cycling Team Sauerland), Mathias Bregnhøj (Sabgal-Anicolor), Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) and Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) got themselves up the road in a four-man breakaway after some early attacking action.
They were kept in check by the peloton until a split in the main group occurred with around 90km to go. Many of the top teams came to the front in an attempt to take advantage of the situation, which saw the gap to the breakaway come tumbling down.
Many riders had been caught out by the split including points classification leader Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step), who would not see the front of the race again and later abandoned the race after a crash.
The breakaway was caught with around 88km to go, making it a group of around 30 riders at the head of the race, with all of the teams committed to extending their gap on those behind them.
With the gap at well over a minute, a second split then occurred in the chasing with around 52km to go. Those chasers then caught the front of the race not long afterwards as Israel-Premier Tech continued to set the pace as they had done for most of the day.
Many riders then tried their hand at going clear as they entered the final 30km of the stage, with Joseph Blackmore (Israel-Premier Tech) and Connor Swift (Ineos Grenadiers) among those attempting to make a move before Remco Evenepoel launched a flurry of attacks off the front.
The Belgian would get a small gap on his first attempt, but was quickly shut down by Jake Stewart (Israel-Premier Tech) on every occasion, as he worked hard to keep things under control for his teammate Stevie Williams.
With 10km to go and all of the attacks nullified, it was clear that the stage was going to finish in a sprint and the teams began to organise themselves at the front of the main group.
Going into the final kilometre, Uno-X Mobility had moved themselves up to the front, with Israel-Premier Tech and Bahrain Victorious also up towards the front as the teams looked to stay organised through the final few corners.
As they entered the final few hundred metres of the stage, Stewart began his final leadout for Ethan Vernon, but the British rider was unable to properly launch his sprint as Matevž Govekar then emerged from behind and began to power towards the line.
The Bahrain Victorious rider was challenged by Rasmus Pedersen and Ben Swift, who were coming up quickly, but the line arrived just in time for the Slovenian who took the biggest win of his career after finishing fourth and fifth on the previous two stages.
Williams finished safely in the bunch to seal the overall victory and Vernon’s fourth place finish along with Magnier’s abandonment saw him secure the points classification for Israel-Premier Tech, who also won the teams classification.
The youth classification went to Onley, who finished second overall in the general classification, whilst the mountains classification went to one of the breakout stars of this year’s Tour of Britain, Callum Thornley (Trinity Racing).
RESULTS: TOUR OF BRITAIN 2024, STAGE SIX, LOWESTOFT › FELIXSTOWE (158KM)
1. Matevž Govekar (Slo) Bahrain Victorious, in 3:22:18
2. Rasmus Pedersen (Den) AG2R La Mondiale Development Team
3. Ben Swift (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
4. Ethan Vernon (GBr) Israel-Premier Tech
5. Erlend Blikra (Nor) Uno-X Mobility
6. Rory Townsend (Ire) Q36.5 Pro Cycling
7. Noah Hobbs (GBr) Groupama-FDJ Continentale
8. Robert Donaldson (GBr) Trinity Racing
9. Jonas Abrahamsen (Nor) Uno-X Mobility
10. Sean Flynn (GBr) dsm-firmenich PostNL, all at same time
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE SIX
1. Stevie Williams (GBr) Israel-Premier Tech, in 21:25:14
2. Oscar Onley (GBr) dsm-firmenich PostNL, +16s
3. Tom Donnenwirth (Fra) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Development Team, +36s
4. Mark Donovan (GBr) Q36.5 Pro Cycling, +40s
5. Joe Blackmore (GBr) Israel-Premier Tech, +41s
6. Jelte Krijnsen (Ned) Q36.5 Pro Cycling, +1:39
7. Edoardo Zambanini (Ita) Bahrain Victorious, +1:40
8. Mathias Bregnhøj (Den) Sabgal-Anicolor, +1:58
9. Noa Isidore (Fra) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Development Team, at same time
10. Sean Flynn (GBr) dsm-firmenich PostNL, +2:03
