The opening time trial of the Volta a Valenciana went to Edvald Boasson Hagen, who bested both climbers and time trial specialists to take the race lead.

Boasson Hagen took five seconds out of his nearest rival Ion Izagirre (Astana) on a course just 10km long, making a statement as the Dimension Data rider looks ahead to the Classics.

Reigning Tour de France champion Geraint Thomas made his return to racing, finishing just outside the top 10 in 13th with fellow Brit Harry Tanfield in 12th.

>>> Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana start list: Geraint Thomas and Alejandro Valverde amongst strong roster

Tanfield leads the youth classification.

Stage one of the week-long race was a short and fast course starting and finishing in the town of Orihuela.

After a flat 5km dash out from the town, the course ramped up into a 0.8km-long climb averaging 10 per cent, making it an unpredictable parcours.

The hot seat changed hands at rapid pace, with early benchmarks being set by Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain-Merida), Diego Rosa (Team Sky) and Jos Van Emden (Jumbo-Visma).

But it was Norwegian time trial champion Boasson Hagen who was able to power himself into the lead, setting a time of 12-55.

Izagirre was rider closest to toppling the 31-year-old, falling five seconds short – a substantial margin on such a short course.

German TT champion and former world title holder in the discipline Tony Martin was strong on the course, coming in third at seven seconds down on the winner.

Welshman Thomas, the current British TT champion, looked good during his ride having not raced since the Tour on Britain last September.

>>> Chris Froome joined by young Colombian fan on training ride

Thomas finished 13^th, 21 seconds down on his former team-mate Boasson Hagen.

Katusha-Alpecin’s Harry Tanfield was one place ahead, also 21 seconds down, in his first time trial with a WorldTour team.

The 2018 winner and road world champion Alejandro Valverde was characteristically strong, finishing eighth at 14 seconds down.

Volta a Valenciana continues with a 166km loop starting and finishing in Alicante on stage two.

Result

Volta a Valenciana 2019 stage one: Orihuela - Orihuela (10.2km)

1. Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) Dimension Data, in 12-55

2. Ion Izagirre (ESP) Astana, at 5 secs

3. Tony Martin (GER) Jumbo-Visma, at 7 secs

4. Dylan Teuns (BEL) Bahrain-Merida, at 8 secs

5. Jos Van Emden (NED) Jumbo-Visma, at 10 secs

6. Nelson Oliveira (POR) Movisar, at 11 secs

7. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Astana, at 13 secs

8. Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Movistar, at 14 secs

9. Jan Tratnik (SLO) Bahrain-Merida, at 19 secs

10. Dan Martin (IRL) UAE Team Emirates, at 20 secs

Others

12. Harry Tanfield (GBR) Katusha-Alpecin, at 21 secs

13. Geraint Thomas (GBR) Team Sky

General classification after stage one

1. Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) Dimension Data, in 12-55

2. Ion Izagirre (ESP) Astana, at 5 secs

3. Tony Martin (GER) Jumbo-Visma, at 7 secs

4. Dylan Teuns (BEL) Bahrain-Merida, at 8 secs

5. Jos Van Emden (NED) Jumbo-Visma, at 10 secs

6. Nelson Oliveira (POR) Movisar, at 11 secs

7. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Astana, at 13 secs

8. Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Movistar, at 14 secs

9. Jan Tratnik (SLO) Bahrain-Merida, at 19 secs

10. Dan Martin (IRL) UAE Team Emirates, at 20 secs

Others

12. Harry Tanfield (GBR) Katusha-Alpecin, at 21 secs

13. Geraint Thomas (GBR) Team Sky

We were all pretty blown away by Norwegian pro Edvald Boasson-Hagen’s marathon six-hour training ride on Zwift, but one detail makes it even more impressive.

The Dimension Data rider uploaded his stats to the Zwift companion app, revealing he had put in a 212km shift on the indoor training software, which is impressive as it is.

But in a social media post published on January 3, the day of the epic effort, Boasson-Hagen revealed he had actually used a cycling treadmill to get in the miles.

>>> Zwift: Everything you need to know

While putting in six hours on the static turbo trainer seems a big ask, even for a pro, riding that time and distance on a treadmill is unheard of.

Boasson-Hagen, 31, showed his dedication to winter training by spending much of the day on the rolling road.

He used the Tacx Magnum, which is basically a treadmill for a bike.

The kit was first unveiled in 2017,  the Magnum offers the ability to both run and ride in the comfort of your own home.

Offering a 15 per cent gradient adjustment and speed settings up to 30km/h, the Magnum Smart will set you back £7,999.

While the Magnum offers you a more realistic riding experience, it also requires much more concentration than conventional turbo trainers.

The treadmill is closer to rollers than the popular static turbo trainers, which makes Boasson-Hagen’s session even more impressive.

The epic indoor effort saw him climb 2,369 metres and burn 4500 calories on the Watopia map.

>>> British Cycling to hold first ‘eRacing Championships’ with training platform Zwift

Boasson-Hagen has notched 75 wins during his 13-year pro career, including three stages of the Tour de France, three general classification wins at the Tour of Norway and two at the Tour of Britain.

The former Team Sky rider is one of the most prominent pros using Zwift, reaching level 36 and totting up more than 8,000 miles and 16 days of indoor riding.

Attention for indoor cycling is growing, with Zwift hosting a race series, British Cycling launching a national e-racing championships and even the UCI hosting an indoor Worlds.

Not all pros have the luxury of unlimited sunny days and ideal conditions for winter training.

While the likes of Chris Froome or the Yates brothers have relocated to warmer, and more mountainous, regions of Europe to aid their off-season preparation, some stay at home and are forced to battle the elements.

One rider who has been dodging some of the most hostile winter conditions is Norweigan Edvald Boasson-Hagen.

>>> Zwift: Everything you need to know

The Dimension Data rider recently put in a staggering effort on the indoor training app Zwift.

Boasson-Hagen spent much of January 3 on the smart trainer, racking up 212km in more than six hours during one session.

The epic indoor effort saw him climb 2,369 metres and burn 4500 calories on the Watopia map.

Zwift is a turbo trainer game that enables you to link you turbo trainer up your computer, iPad, iPhone or Apple TV, letting you ride with other cyclists in a virtual environment, therefore helping to alleviate some of the boredom associated with indoor riding.

As well as competing against others riders in Zwift racers, those seeking specific training sessions can access workouts designed by professional coaches, and these can be completed in groups with riders completing efforts at the same intensity based on a percentage of their FTP.

>>> British Cycling to hold first ‘eRacing Championships’ with training platform Zwift

Boasson-Hagen has notched 75 wins during his 13-year pro career, including three stages of the Tour de France, three general classification wins at the Tour of Norway and two at the Tour of Britain.

The former Team Sky rider is one of the most prominent pros using Zwift, reaching level 36 and totting up more than 8,000 miles and 16 days of indoor riding.

Attention for indoor cycling is growing, with Zwift hosting a race series, British Cycling launching a national e-racing championships and even the UCI hosting an indoor Worlds.

Edvald Boasson Hagen will delay the start to his 2018 season for Dimension Data after undergoing an operation to remove his gallbladder.

The 30-year-old Norwegian told Procycling.no that he was suffering from stomach pain after his recent wedding.

He visited the doctors the day before he was due to fly out to a training camp, and the diagnosis was made. Further tests at the Ullevål Hospital in Oslo concluded that he had an inflamed gallbladder, and it was subsequently removed.

Boasson Hagen will sit-out Dimension Data's current early-season training camp in Calpe, Spain, and will miss riding the Vuelta Ciclista a la Comunidad Valenciana.

>>> Dimension Data trick Twitter users with fake white shorts photo

He will seek to start his season in February at the Volta ao Algarve and get back to peak fitness for the Classics.

"The race in Valencia is not the most important thing on the calendar, so I'm really glad that this happened now," Boasson Hagen told Procycling.no.

"There is no reason to go around with a defective gallbladder. I still believe I will come into the Classics in good shape."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gziABZj6X8

Boasson Hagen enjoyed a successful 2017 season for South African team Dimension Data, winning stage 19 of the Tour de France and claiming overall victories in the Tour des Fjords and Tour of Norway.

He also claimed a stage of the Tour of Britain on his way to finishing second overall – he has previously won the Tour of Britain in 2009 and 2015.

Boasson Hagen got married to Marlen Kristiansen in Oslo in the first week of January. According to Norwegian press, Mark Cavendish, Geraint Thomas, Lars Petter Nordhaug and Kurt Asle Arvesen were all present at the ceremony.

Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data) took victory on stage eight of the Tour of Britain as Lars Boom (LottoNL-Jumbo), held on for overall victory.

Boasson Hagen had attacked with just under 3km to go to try and take the overall victory from Boom, but while he was able to hold on to take the stage victory, Boom was able to remain in the group which finished on the same time as Boasson Hagen and claim victory and his second career overall victory at the Tour of Britain.

How it happened

A fast start saw the main bunch almost split in two, with a number of riders who would have had eyes on a sprint finish getting caught out including Caleb Ewan (Orica-Scott) and Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo).

The fast start also meant that no breakaway was able to form in the rain and wind en route to Cardiff.

The overall favourites were all present in the front group and that meant chasing bonus seconds on the three intermediate sprints to try and unseat race leader Lars Boom (LottoNL-Jumbo).

Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data), who sat eighth overall at 20 seconds, took two maximum bonuses of three seconds, but he wasn't able to stop Boom grabbing seconds on two of the sprints and holding onto his lead.

A breakaway was able to eventually get away courtesy of the fight for mountain points on Belmont Hill, with Gorka Izagirre (Movistar) and Mark Stewart (An Post-Chain Reaction) getting away with just ahead of 35km to go and getting a gap of around 12 seconds.

They were inevitably caught with around 7.8km to on the city circuits of Cardiff, and it looked as though it would all come down to a sprint as expected.

Things began to break up as Boom, Boasson Hagen, Stefan Küng (BMC) and Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) went for the final intermediate bonus seconds with one lap to go, with Kwiatkowski taking it ahead of Boom and Küng.

Boasson Hagen then looked to push on, but eventually it was all back together again.

The Norwegian wouldn't be held back though, as he looked to take a third career overall classification victory at the Tour of Britain.

That meant gapping Boom by eight seconds and taking the maximum bonus seconds on the finish line, and Boasson Hagen duly attacked with just under 3km to go.

As Quick-Step rallied to try and bring him back to setup a sprint for Fernando Gaviria, Boasson Hagen was able to gain a decent gap of around 50 metres on the bunch and held it into the final 500 metres.

As the he swung onto the final straight with bunch getting closer, the gap came down quickly with Max Richeze (Quick-Step) attacking in lieu of his missing sprinter Gaviria, dragging the bunch and Boom right up to Boasson Hagen.

While that was enough to hand Boom the overall victory, it wasn't enough to stop Boasson Hagen taking the stage win and finishing in second place overall by eight seconds to Boom.

Results

Tour of Britain 2017, stage eight: Worcester to Cardiff (180.2km)

1. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data, in 4-19-00

2. Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) Quick-Step Floors

3. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha-Alpecin

4. Luka Mezgec (Slo) Orica-Scott

5. Brenton Jones (Aus) JLT-Condor

6. Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Wanty Groupe-Gobert

7. Floris Gerts (Ned) BMC Racing

8. Fernando Gaviria (Col) Quick-Step Floors

9. Jonas Koch (Ger) CCC Sprandi Polkowice

10. Elia Viviani (Ita) Team Sky, all same time

Final overall classification

1. Lars Boom (Ned) LottoNl-Jumbo, in 30-56-24

2. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data, at 8s

3. Stefan Küng (Sui) BMC Racing, at 10s

4. Victor Campenaerts (Bel) LottoNL-Jumbo, at 13s

5. Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky, at 18s

6. Jos van Emden (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo, st

7. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky, at 24s

8. Tony Martin (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin, at 25s

9. Owan Doull (GBr) Team Sky, at 33s

10. Ryan Mullen (Irl) Cannondale-Drapac, at 38s

The outcome of the men’s World Championships road race could hinge on the weather, according to a number of riders who could potentially win.

The 267.5km race in and around the Norwegian city of Bergen is an intriguing prospect for riders and spectators alike, with parcours suiting all number of riders.

There are 11 laps of a 19.1km circuit in Bergen that includes a 1.5km climb averaging a 6.4 percent gradient. A number of fast men could crest the repeated ascents and contest a reduced sprint finish, or more likely punchy and Classics style riders will be victorious.

The route, however, could be a secondary factor. "The weather will affect it," home favourite and one of the fancied riders Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data) told Cycling Weekly. "If it rains, there will always be people who will not be so motivated.

"I don't think wind will make a big difference, but if it rains there are a few corners that could make things interesting.

"It won't be warm in Norway at that time, and there could be people who don't do that well in those conditions."

>>> Dan Martin: ‘I learned this year that I can win the Tour de France’

Dan Martin is part of Ireland's six-man squad, their largest ever team for a World Championships. Although the Quick-Step Floors rider is unlikely to be in contention for the win, he can foresee adverse weather producing a surprise winner.

"The Worlds is always a strange race, always hard," he said. "The weather could play a big part. If it is wet and cold, as it can be up there, you could definitely see different winner than if it was warm and dry, and especially after 270km in the wet and cold."

Czech Republic's lead rider and Martin's current trade teammate Zdenek Stybar agreed, but also pointed out that the race will be unpredictable whatever the weather.

"It's really hard to say how the race will go," was his assessment.

"I think the weather conditions will play a big role. I'm not a fan of rain as it makes it slippery and the riders become more nervous. You can also get into trouble when it's not your fault. I really hope it doesn't rain.

"At 270km, it could turn out to be a sprint, but I don't really expect that. I think there will be some late attacks and a smaller group at the finish. There are options for every kind of rider. It will depend on who takes it into their own hands, who controls the race. It will be interesting."

Boasson Hagen - who may share co-leadership duty with Alexander Kristoff - has ridden the course "a few times". He said: "It's not super-hard, but the length will make a difference.

"The goal is to try and be up there, but there are 200 other people who want to win. I feel pretty good right now and hopefully stay like this and get even better in the team two weeks. It's going to be hard but I will do everything I can to try and win it."

Edvald Boasson Hagen has apologised to Elia Viviani after he was stripped of victory on stage two of the Tour of Britain for dangerous sprinting.

The Dimension Data rider was adjudged to have strayed left into the Team Sky rider’s path at the finish in Blyth, the jury returning their verdict to make Viviani the stage winner more than 45 minutes after the race’s climax and Boasson Hagen having been presented as the stage winner and new race leader on the podium.

Viviani visibly vented his anger at the Norwegian’s sprint in the immediate aftermath of the finish, and indicated that his decision to lodge an appeal had been made up before he had even crossed the finish.

“When we started the sprint I had a lot of space - half the road was free,” the Italian said.

>>> Watch: Should Edvald Boasson Hagen have been relegated on stage two of the Tour of Britain?

“And then when I went, I seen him come straight from the left and in that moment I really didn’t have the space to pass him.

“I stopped pedalling, restarted the sprint and I was really focused to finish second because I knew something was wrong in the sprint and then, yeah, the jury did their job and took this decision.

“He said sorry to me straight away. He said he had his head down and he didn’t see where he was going but from my point of view he came in on my line and I couldn’t really pass him.”

“I tried to apologise but we haven’t really spoken much,” Boasson Hagen said. “I was just sprinting for the line. I looked down and I know I went over to the left and it was really not on purpose to try to block anyone, and I did, so I’m really sorry for what I did there. But it’s a pity to lose the victory and the bonus seconds for GC.

>>> Taylor Phinney apologises after being disqualified from Tour of Britain for railway crossing incident

“Viviani was really not happy when he crossed the line and I expected him to try and protest. Then I thought it was done and not on the podium so it’s a pity to not have the victory but I’m sorry for what I did to Viviani.

“I thought the team did a really good job today and we just have to keep fighting tomorrow. That’s just how it is.”

Despite losing bonus seconds he thought he had accrued, Boasson Hagen is still aiming to become only the first rider to win three editions of the race.

He said: “That’s my goal [GC] and we’ll try to do our best here. We lost some good seconds today that it would’ve been nice to have as a bonus but we just have to keep fighting.”

Viviani believes that the 16km time trial in Clacton on Thursday limits the chance of overall success for the sprinters, except Boasson Hagen or someone like his ilk.

Viviani said: “I think a guy like Eddy can win because he already has seven seconds from yesterday and tomorrow is a little bit uphill finish and maybe some sprinters will be dropped - me too - and he can take bonus seconds again. So I think a sprinter like him can win the GC.”

Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data) took his first Tour de France stage win in six years as he nipped off the front of a breakaway on stage 19 into Salon-de-Provence, while the general classification contenders enjoyed an easy day in the peloton ahead of Saturday's crucial time trial in Marseille.

After missing out by millimetres to Marcel Kittel (Quick-Step Floors) on stage seven to Nuits-Saint-Georges, Boasson Hagen wasn't leaving anything to chance on the race's penultimate road stage.

The Norwegian was part of a large escape group that went clear of the peloton after 30km and was allowed plenty of leash to finish more than 10 minutes ahead of the peloton.

>>> Five talking points from stage 19 of the Tour de France

A flurry of attacks from other riders in the break came to nothing, and in the end Boasson Hagen got lucky when, together with Nikias Arndt (Team Sunweb) he took the shorter route around a roundabout in the final two kilometres.

Spotting his opportunity, Boasson Hagen accelerated away from Arndt, going solo to the line to win his first Tour stage since taking two wins in Team Sky colours in 2011.

Meanwhile it was Team Sky who led the peloton home more than 12 minutes later, Froome looking relaxed in his yellow jersey having enjoyed an easy day of the saddle ahead of Saturday's time trial.

How it happened

The opening kilometres of stage 19 of the Tour de France saw aggressive racing on what was the penultimate road stage and the last real chance of a breakaway succeeding before the race finishes on Sunday.

With half of the 22 teams in the race yet to pick up a stage win, there were plenty of attacks in the early stages, but Team Sky were in control of the race, apparently trying to prevent any threateningly-positioned Ag2r La Mondiale riders to get up the road and threaten their place at the top of the team classification.

That meant that it took 30km for a breakaway to establish itself after the race had been stretched out considerably by a high pace over the third category Col Lebraut.

When it finally went clear, the group consisted of 20 riders, including Ag2r La Mondiale's Jan Bakelants, who was joined by Daniele Bennati (Movistar), Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo), Ben Swift (UAE Team Emirates), Rudy Molard (FDJ), Michael Albasini and Jens Keukeleire (Orica-Scott), Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data), Gianluca Brambilla (Quick-Step Flours), Robert Kiserlovski (Katusha-Alpecin), Thomas De Gendt and Tony Gallopin (Lotto-Soudal), Nikias Arndt (Team Sunweb), Julien Simon (Cofidis), Lilian Calmejane, Sylvain Chavanel and Romain Sicard (Direct Energie), and Elie Gesbert, Romain Hardy and Pierre-Luc Périchon (Fortuneo-Oscaro).

With the team classification decided by a team's top three riders, Bakelants being Ag2r's third best-placed rider, and Sky holding a 15-minute lead in that classification, the breakaway was allowed a maximum lead of around eight minutes before Vasil Kiryienka, Christian Knees, and Luke Rowe moved to the front of the peloton to raise the pace and restrict the gap.

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The break's lead remained around eight minutes for much of the stage, with the break working well together until the third category Col du Poitu with 50km remaining.

This was the only obstacle that gave a chance for the other riders in the break to drop Edvald Boasson Hagen, the strongest sprinter in the group, meaning a flurry of attacks. Sicard was the first to attack, followed by Gesbert and Kiserlovski.

That trio made it to the top of the climb with a small advantage, but were soon chased down by Thomas De Gendt, the rest of the breakaway group sat in his wheel.

With 20km remaining another attack came from Jens Keukeleire, who took advantage of a slight rise in the road to jump off the front. The Belgian wasn't able to get away, but he did manage to split the group in two, nine riders moving clear.

The reduced group then worked well together to distance those who had missed the split, before starting to play around in the final seven kilometres.

Almost every rider in the group launched an attack at one point or another, but the crucial move came when Boasson Hagen and Arndt got lucky by taking the shorter route around a roundabout, finding themselves off the front, before Boasson Hagen went clear himself.

>>> 'Don't expect miracles, Chris Froome will win the 2017 Tour de France'

From there the Norwegian rider was not going to be caught, crossing the line with a comfortable margin of victory and a huge grin across his face. Arndt came home five seconds later, with Keukeleire sprinting out of the remains of the break to complete the podium.

Meanwhile all the action at the front meant the peloton had slipped further back, Team Sky setting a gentle pace to bring Froome home safely, the yellow jersey thanking his team-mates as he crossed the line, his mind probably already on Saturday's 22.5km time trial on the streets of Marseille.

Results

Tour de France 2017, stage 19: Embrun to Salon-de-Provence, 222.5km

1. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data, in 5-06-09

2. Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Sunweb, at 5 secs

3. Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica-Scott, at 17 secs

4. Daniele Bennati (Ita) Movistar

5. Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal

6. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Direct Energie

7. Elie Gesbert (Fra) Fortuneo-Oscaro

8. Jan Bakelants (Bel) Ag2r La Mondiale, all at same time

9. Michael Albasini (Sui) Orica-Scott, at 19 secs

10. Pierre Luc Perichon (Fra) Fortuneo - Oscaro, at 1-32

General classification after stage 19

1. Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky, in 83-26-55

2. Romain Bardet (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale, at 23 secs

3. Rigoberto Uran (Col) Cannondale-Drapac, at 29 secs

4. Mikel Landa (Esp) Team Sky, at 1-36

5. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana, at 1-55

6. Daniel Martin (Irl) Quick-Step Floors, at 2-56

7. Simon Yates (GBr) Orica-Scott, at 4-46

8. Louis Meintjes (RSA) UAE Team Emirates, at 6-52

9. Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Sunweb, at 8-22

10. Alberto Contador (Esp) Trek-Segafredo, at 8-34

Dimension Data today once again proved they will be a force to be reckoned with this season when Edvald Boasson Hagen won stage five of the 2016 Tour of Oman.

The Norwegian sprinted clear of a small group for his second victory of the race and the team’s sixth of he season so far, including Boasson Hagen’s time trial win at the Tour of Qatar.

Race leader Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) and fellow GC hopeful Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale), who sat in second, finished the stage safely with the same time as the winner to retain their places on GC.

Though yesterday’s mountain top finish at Green Mountain was the decisive stage of the week, today’s 119.5km race between Yiti and the Ministry of Tourism was a severe test for the peloton and further defined the classification.

Beginning in a tiny seaside village, the peloton set off on a narrow road through jagged brown rocky peaks, the road littered with numerous short, very steep climbs, before heading towards Muscat.

There was, however, no let up in the climbing on the more major roads, which passed though the mountains behind the city. There were then three ascents of Bousher Al Amerat, a climb used on stage two, which Boasson Hagen also won, before the peloton headed into the city.

Shortly after the start three riders, Hugo Houle (AG2R), Pieter Weening (Roompot) and Boasson Hagen’s South African team mate, Jacques Janse van Rensburg broke clear of the pack, building a lead which at one stage was over six minutes.

As the three riders made their first ascent of Bousher Al Amerat that gap had reduced to 4-20 and, though Houle was dropped on the climb, the remaining two worked hard to stay away.

Behind them the peloton was whittled down by the climbing, leaving under 40 riders in the peloton going into the final, among them Boasson Hagen and race leader Nibali. The leading duo managed to resist the peloton well, but were eventually caught with only two kilometres remaining.

“About four or five kilometres to go I started to think about what I am going to do on the sprint,” Van Rensburg said. “I didn’t help Pieter in the break because Edvald was in the group behind, so I was getting ready when I saw they were just behind us.

It had been the team tactical plan for Van Rensburg to be in the break: “I am only four minutes down on GC,” he told us. “It puts a bit of pressure to keep the tempo quite high in the bunch so that it suited Edvald quite well up the climbs. It definitely worked out in the end with Edvald winning, so I am really happy about that.”

With four other Dimension Data riders able to lead Boasson-Hagen out in the final, the Norwegian dominated the sprint, finishing ahead of Greg Van Avermaet (BMC).

As for Van Rensburg, he starts tomorrow’s final stage wearing the most aggressive rider jersey having hoovered the maximum available points today. With a lead of 12 points he will win the polka dot jersey proving he finishes tomorrow.

Stage six covers 130.5 km between The Wave Muscat and Matrah Corniche after which the winner of the Tour of Oman will be presented his red jersey.

Result

Tour of Oman stage five, Yiti (Al Sifah) - Ministry of Tourism (119.5km):

1. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data, in 3-05-32

2. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC

3. Marco Canola (Ita) United HealthCare

4. Simone Ponzi (Ita) CCC Sprandi

5. Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Etixx-QuickStep

6. Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Stolting Service Group

7. Erik Sven Bystrom (Nor) Katusha

8. Adam Phelan (Aus) Drapac

9. Marco Marcato (Ita) Wanty - Groupe Gobert

10. Nathan Haas (Aus) Dimensions Data, all same time

Others

12. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana, st

14. Romain Bardet (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale, st

General Classfication after stage five

1. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana, 19-24-07

2. Romain Bardet (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale, at 15 secs

3. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana, at 24 secs

4. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Giant-Alpecin, 40 secs

5. Rui Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida, at 54 secs

6. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor), at 1-06

7. Brendan Canty (Aus) Drapac, at 1-31

8. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Ag2r La Mondiale, at 1-38

9. Merhawi Kudus (Eri) Dimension Data, at 1-41

10. Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Etixx-QuickStep, at 1-59

Just a week ago Edvald Boasson Hagen stood on the Tour of Qatar podium wearing the race leader’s jersey having won the day’s time trial stage. Today, he did exactly the same in the Tour of Oman, with a performance which illustrated not only his sheer class but of the spirit being generated within the Dimension Data team.

The stage was a relatively routine one for the peloton; an escape going out fairly early to mop up some of the intermediate sprint and mountains points, the main contenders behind, safe in the knowledge the day’s action would come nearer the finish.

With about 25km to go cross winds hit the peloton and, under pressure from BMC and Katusha the bunch split into smaller groups. “We felt that maybe it was going to split there but I didn’t think anyone would take it up,” Boasson Hagen said.

>>> Edvald Boasson Hagen wins Tour of Oman stage two to take race lead

Road captain for the team takes up the story, “Luckily we were in a good position, we had almost the whole team there, so we were able to kind of surf on the side and jump in when we saw there was a split.”

With a selection made, the final climb became the team’s focus. “Towards the climb we noticed that guys like Jungels were already hurting,” Australian Nathan Haas told us.

“We knew we could spit him by going hard at the bottom of the climb. It was for the [leader’s] jersey and we just committed. The four of us just took long pulls on the climb until we were dead. Then you hear that Eddy finishes it off is just awesome.”

The luck of which Farrar spoke can only get you so far, however. Team director Roger Hammond left the race 50km before the finish and drove the finish five times, relaying information to the team. By the time the riders reached the bottom of the 2.8km climb they had a mind map of every bend and ramp.

It is, however, the spirit of togetherness and sacrifice which emanates from the team which made the win.

“It’s a team of people with superstar ability maybe not realised on other squads,” Haas explained.

“But they’re all riding together with a cause and you feel this energy. I really wanted Eddy to win today, and it’s normally a stage that I would have a crack on, but when you’ve got this mass energy it’s something you don’t think about. It’s what I think will make us one of the biggest teams in the World.”

Watch: Pro bike - Edvald Boasson Hagen's Cervelo

A day after winning the gold leader’s jersey in Qatar last week Boasson Hagen lost it following a double puncture. “It’s really good it’s good feeling to have it back,” he said. “It’s a different race, but good that I could have some luck again in some races and have a victory.”

Misfortune robbed Boasson Hagen of overall victory last week but he admitted today’s climb was on his limit and Friday’s ascent of Green Mountain is both longer and steeper. While that is a major barrier to overall victory in Oman, with today’s win the 28-year-old Norwegian has once again proved his class.

Edvald Boasson Hagen won today’s stage of the 2016 Tour of Oman with a well-timed uphill sprint which also puts him into the race leader’s jersey.

The Norwegian’s Dimension Data team maintained control on the final climb, placing him the perfect position to launch his sprint on the uphill finish, the first of two at this week’s race.

A section of crosswinds in the lead up to the climb served to split the peloton, leaving a select group to battle for the victory. An average gradient of 6.8 per cent over the 2.8km climb did not tell the full story as steeper ramps further split the group on the approach to the line.

Yesterday’s stage winner, red jersey wearer, Bob Jungels (Etixx-QuckStep) was dropped within the final two kilometres, ceding the jersey to Boasson Hagen, and now sits in 19th place, 51 seconds down.

The day’s racing began at the Omantel company offices, west of Muscat and covered 162km to the summit finish at Quriyat.

>>> Tour of Oman 2016: Latest news, reports and race info

A group of six riders, including Kenny Dehaes (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) and Christoph Pfingsten (Bora-Argon 18), both is yesterday’s break, escaped in the first few kilometres. By the time they reached the top of the first climb, after 33km, their lead had grown to over three minutes.

After some discord in the escape, three riders attacked to ride on their own. That group, Christoph Kamp (Stölting), Jesper Asselman (Roompot) and Pierre-Luc Perichon (Fortuneo-Vital Concept) were eventually caught in the final 30km as the leading teams set up the final.

 Video - Edvald Boasson Hagen's custom Cervelo S5

Notable by his absence as the stage came to its climax was Richie Porte (BMC), who was dropped in the crosswind section. The Australian was late arriving in Oman after flight delays, but has apparently come to the race for training following the Australian summer, and is aiming to defend the Paris-Nice title he won when riding for Team Sky last year.

Results

Tour of Oman 2016, stage two: Omantel Head Office to Quriyat, 162km

1. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data

2. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana

3. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing

4. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Ag2r La Mondiale

5. Davide Rebellin (Ita) CCC Sprandi Polkowice

6. Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Etixx-QuickStep

7. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana

8. Romain Bardet (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale

9. Rui Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida

10. Serge Pauwels (Bel) Dimension Data all same time

General classification after stage two

1. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data

2. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana at 4 secs

3. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing at 6 secs

4. Romain Bardet (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale at 6 secs

5. Serge Pauwels (Bel) Dimension Data at 8 secs

6. Davide Rebellin (Ita) CCC Sprandi Polkowice at 10 secs

7. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Ag2r La Mondiale at 10 secs

8. Rui Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida at 10 secs

9. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana at 10 secs

10. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Giant-Alpecin at 16 secs

Just 24 hours after the euphoria of his time trial win, Edvald Boasson Hagen’s hopes of winning the Tour of Qatar general classification are more than likely gone. The Norwegian Dimension Data rider punctured twice on the final of four laps in today’s stage in Madinat Al Shamal.

The day had been relatively routine for the gold jersey wearer, whose team controlled the race when they needed to. The one notable issue early in the race was the number of punctures being suffered by riders of all teams. There were at least 10 in as many kilometres.

The drama began as the peloton approached the finish line for the penultimate time. LottoNL-Jumbo, looking to split the field and set up a stage win, upped the pace, causing the peloton to split in the wind, which had been increasing throughout the afternoon.

>>> Mark Cavendish back in Tour of Qatar lead after stage four

At that time, Boasson Hagen was safely in the large front group with his teammates, before disaster struck. Having changed one wheel he remounted but stopped again within just a few metres with a second puncture, taking a team mate’s bike rather than wait for a second wheel.

While Mark Cavendish, then second on general classification, stayed with the front group, the rest of the Dimension Data team dropped back to help their leader. However, by that time the gap was around 40 seconds: too much so late in the day.

>>> Brit Mark McNally makes his mark in Tour of Qatar escape

“He punctured the front, got going and then immediately punctured the back,” explained team directeur sportif Roger Hammond. “They rode a perfect stage, in control all the time and then a puncture at the worst possible moment.

“They made that instinctive decision,” said Hammond of the team decision to help the Norwegian. “They’re all professional bike riders understand the situation. We had a game plan before the start, so they knew that if Eddy had any trouble they had to [assist].

“Katusha got a lot of help there in the front, but one against two teams when you’ve been riding all day was always going to difficult. They’ve limited their losses, thankfully we had two in the front on GC.”

Despite Cavendish inheriting the race lead, there was clear disappointment as the team gathered at the finish. Boasson Hagen, never overly demonstrative, was clearly unhappy.

“I think I hit something but I don’t know,” he told reporters. “I caught a cat's eye or something, but they both got flat. I’m impressed with the whole team but s**t happens.”

Cavendish now leads Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) by just two seconds, though today’s stage winner Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) is arguably more of a threat. With two stage wins already and bonus seconds on offer for the win and both intermediate sprints, tomorrow’s final stage is likely to be hard fought.

It was day of drama and punctures at the 2016 Tour of Qatar today as race leader Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data) lost his gold jersey after a late puncture, with team-mate Mark Cavendish regaining the overall top spot.

The race split on the final of four laps under the pressure of cross winds and an attack from LottoNL-Jumbo and, whilst Boasson Hagen made the front group, he punctured twice shortly after. By the time he was on a bike that worked, he was in a second bunch 40 seconds down.

The stage was won by Alexander Kristoff (Katusha), who sprinted to his second victory this week. Unable to sprint, Cavendish finished fifth, though he now leads the general classification by two seconds from BMC’s Greg Van Avermaet.

>>> ‘As long as we win it doesn’t matter’: Mark Cavendish content with losing Qatar lead to Edvald Boasson Hagen

The stage, covering 189 km between Al Zubarah Fort and Madiant Al Shamal, began at at high speed, with 50 kilometres covered in the first hour. Though the road surface was generally good, the edges were littered with gravel and riders suffered an unusually high number of punctures.

After a number of early attacks were brought back a group of nine riders, including Briton Mark McNally (Wanty-Groupe Gobert), forced their way clear of the peloton.

The escape built a lead in excess of two minutes, though immediately after the first intermediate sprint, just before a section of cross winds, the gap began to tumble under the impetus of BMC.

The group were eventually caught at the feed station at the start of a large loop west of the finish town of Madinat Al Shamal. On this loop a further escape formed, again featuring McNally, who was joined by Preben van Hecke (Topsport-Vlaanderen) and Patrick Gretsch (Ag2r), both of whom had been in the earlier escape. With with Jesper Asselman (Roompot-Oranje Peloton) also present, the group, they were finally caught with only 11km to race.

Today’s drama sets up a thrilling final stage covering 114.5 km between Sealine Beach Resort and Doha Corniche. Stage winner Kristoff now sits in fourth place, just nine seconds behind Cavendish, who will need to be attentive with bonus seconds available on both intermediate sprints and at the finish.

Results

Tour of Qatar 2016, stage four: Al Zubarah Fort to Madinat Al Shamal, 189km

1. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha

2. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing

3. Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Katusha

4. Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Argon 18

5. Mark Cavendish (GBr) Dimension Data

6. Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing at same time

7. Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Katusha at 6 secs

8. Soren Kragh Andersen (Den) Giant-Alpecin at 8 secs

9. Moreno Hofland (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo at 9 secs

10. Michael Morkov (Den) Katusha at 9 secs

General classification after stage four

1. Mark Cavendish (GBr) Dimension Data

2. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing at 2 secs

3. Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing at 6 secs

4. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha at 9 secs

5. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data at 19 secs

6. Soren Kragh Andersen (Den) Giant-Alpecin at 30 secs

7. Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Argon 18 at 41 secs

8. Sven Erik Bystrom (Nor) Katusha at 49 secs

9. Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Katusha at 50 secs

10. Michael Schar (Swi) BMC Racing at 58 secs

Despite losing his gold leader’s jersey, Mark Cavendish is delighted as teammate Edvald Boasson Hagen takes the leader’s jersey in the Tour of Qatar.

Cavendish seemed relaxed at the start of Wednesday's time trial in Qatar. Waiting on the start ramp, he was laughing as the speaker speculated just how much time the then gold jersey wearer would lose on the 11.4km circuit.

He did lose time but his was no bad performance. Finishing 7th, with a time of 14 minutes 10, he was just 44 seconds behind team mate Boasson Hagen, who now leads the general classification by 26 seconds from the Briton in second place.

“I was brought up in the UK riding ten miles,” Cavendish told waiting reporters. “It’s something I’ve done since I was 12 years old. Normally in another race I would use it as a rest day, but I had the gold jersey.

Even before stage one the Manxman was tipping Boasson Hagen to win today. Each day he stressed how the Norwegian road and time trial champion was a good bet for the win. And so it proved. Indeed today’s press conference Cavendish was full of praise for his teammate.

Watch: Men's WorldTour contenders for 2016

Dimension Data is the third team the two have shared, with both riding at Highroad, Sky in the past, with 28-year-old Boasson Hagen joining the current outfit last year as MTN-Quebeka. This recurring collaboration means they know each other well, so Cavendish is in the perfect position to comment on his colleague’s progression.

“One thing I’ve noticed since riding with him last is how he has grown as a leader,” Cavendish said. “He’s one of the old guys in the team now, and for a quiet lad he really motivates the others.

"He knows how to ride in a unit, he knows how to be the leader and road captain. It’s superb to see him grow in a leadership role and he definitely inspires the young athletes.”

Before his 2010 move to Team Sky, Boasson Hagen had been on a steep upward trajectory, but during his four seasons with the British team he became increasingly anonymous, perhaps stifled by Grand Tour aspirations.

He is far too polite to say that, however, responding today saying, “It is nice to change now and then but I had a good time in Sky as well.”

Cavendish was more succinct.

“He’s the same rider he was, he’s never changed. He was kind of in service at Sky, so you didn’t get to see what he could do.

"I rode with him and he was still as strong as ever, but obviously we had bigger ambitions at Sky. But he is back in an environment where he can flourish as a racer and he’s definitely shown that.”

After today’s Norwegian flourish, Dimension Data now occupy the first two places at the Tour of Qatar and, while anything can happen in such a race, Friday could see Boasson Hagen win his second consecutive stage race, after his Tour of Britain win last September.

As for Cavendish, though he is only 26 second behind his team mate, he doesn’t care which of them wins. “As long as we win the GC it doesn’t matter.”

Edvald Boasson Hagen ensured the Tour of Qatar leader's jersey stayed with Dimension Data with a dominant display in the 11km time trial on stage three.

The Norwegian time trial champion completed the course in 13-26, 25 seconds faster than runner-up Jos Van Emden (LottoNL-Jumbo).

Previous race leader Mark Cavendish finished seventh, 44 seconds down on his teammate and is now second on GC at 26 seconds.

The third stage of the race was held over a flat 11.4 kilometre circuit consisting of eight tight turns linked by long straights. Lieuwe Westra (Astana), former Dutch time trial champion, set an early benchmark, before being eclipsed by compatriot Jos van Emden, who set a time 13 minutes 51 seconds.

That time stood until Boasson Hagen, who began the day 18 seconds behind Cavendish, set a time of 13-26, enough to lift him from fifth to first place.

Heading off last, Cavendish had his work cut out retaining the race lead but shouldn't be too disappointed with his ride. The Manxman lost the lead to his teammate rather than a rival, and finished in a strong seventh position - which points to good form at the start of a season where he has set himself some ambitious goals.

Cavendish still leads the points classification and sits second on GC. The likelihood of cross winds on tomorrow’s 189km stage between Al Zubarah Fort and Madinat Al Shamal means the general classification is far from decided, though Dimension Data are certainly in a strong position.

Tour of Qatar stage three, Lusail-Lusail (11km TT)

1. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data, 13-26

2. Jos Van Emden (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo, at 25s

3. Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC, at 29s

4. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel), at 32s

5. Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz), Astana at 40s

6. Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Astana, at 43s

7. Mark Cavendish (Gbr) Dimension Data, at 44s

8. Jordan Kerby (Aus), Drapac, st

9. Soren Kragh Andersen (Den) Giant-Alpecin, at 45s

10. Daniel Oss (Ita) BMC, at 47s

Tour of Qatar GC after stage three

1. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data, 06-53-35

2. Mark Cavendish (GBr) Dimension Data, at 26s

3. Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC, at 32s

4. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC, at 34s

5. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha, at 45s

6. Soren Kragh Andersen (Den) Giant-Alpecin, at 48s

7. Sven Erik Bystrom (Nor) Katusha, at 1-02

8. Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Argon, at 1-07

9. Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Katusha, at 1-10

10. Michael Schar (Swi) BMC, at 1-15

André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) chalked up his first victory of the 2016 season on Thursday, winning the opening day of the Challenge Mallorca, the Trofeo Felanitx.

The German sprint powerhouse out-paced Irishman Sam Bennett (Bora-Argon 18) and Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data) to take the win on the Spanish island.

Top British finisher was Andy Fenn (Team Sky) in seventh place at the end of the 174-kilometre, UCI 1.1-ranked race.

Sir Bradley Wiggins (Great Britain) made his road season debut at the race, and finished 19 seconds down on Greipel in a large second group.

>>> Bradley Wiggins makes 2016 debut at Challenge Mallorca

An earlier three-rider break was reeled in with 25km to go as Greipel's team led the pace of the peloton. A spirited but ultimately short-lived attack by Xavier Cañellas (Spain) in the final 15km was also quashed.

The four-day Challenge Mallorca offers opportunities for riders to ease into racing as the season winds up pace. Each day is treated as a separate race, but a prize is offered for the rider who finishes highest on aggregate after all four events are completed.

In addition to Lotto-Soudal, Sky and Dimension Data, a host of WorldTour teams have elected to use the event as a warm-up, including Etixx-QuickStep, Cannondale, FDJ, Trek-Segafredo and IAM Cycling.

>>> Team Sky announces early-season race line-ups

Many teams coincide the racing with a training camp on the island.

Result

Trofeo Felanitx (Challenge Mallorca day one): Felantix to Porreres, 174km

1. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Soudal

2. Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Argon 18

3. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data

4. Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Cannondale

5. Matteo Trentin (Ita) Etixx-QuickStep

6. Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) IAM Cycling

7. Andy Fenn (GBr) Team Sky

8. Filippo Fortin (Ita) GM Europa Ovini

9. Marc Sarreau (Fra) FDJ

10. Albert Torres (Spa) Spain all same time

After the flagship signing of sprinter Mark Cavendish was announced on Tuesday, MTN-Qhubeka have wasted no time in securing more riders for the 2016 season.

Cavendish brought former Team Sky rider Bernhard Eisel with him, as well as trusted leadout man Mark Renshaw and the trio will be joined by another Australian in the shape of Nathan Haas.

Haas leaves Cannondale-Garmin after five years with the team having proved a solid domestique for the American team. The Brisbane-born rider was awarded the overall victory at the 2012 Tour of Britain after Jonathan Tiernan-Locke was stripped of his title.

Also joining the team is Omar Fraile, who dominated the mountains classification at the Vuelta a España this year, winning by 19 points from Ruben Plaza.

MTN-Qhubeka's mechanic shows us the tricks of his trade

As well as the new signings, MTN-Qhubeka, who will be known as Team Dimension Data next season, announced the core riders of their team have renewed their contracts for 2016.

Edvald Boasson Hagen, Steve Cummings, Tyler Farrar, Jacques Janse van Rensburg, Reinardt Janse van Rensburg, Daniel Teklehaimanot, Merhawi Kudus, and Serge Pauwels all sign on for 2016, with a host of other riders also committing their future to the team.

Andre Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) was first over the line for the second time in two days at the Tour of Britain, but this time he wasn't to be awarded the stage win.

Greipel seemed to deviate from his line in the sprint, pushing Elia Viviani (Team Sky) towards the barriers, allowing the German to sprint almost unchallenged to the line.

The race commissaires adjudged Greipel impeded Viviani and relegated him, leaving the Sky rider to take his third stage of the race.

MTN-Qhubeka's Edvald Boasson Hagen sealed the overall title with a strong ride that saw him rarely fall further back than fifth position in the peloton, with the Norwegian fittingly finishing fifth on the stage.

An eight-man break, including defending champion Dylan Van Baarle (Cannondale-Garmin), made its move after the first intermediate sprint after lap three.

At that sprint, Owain Doull (Team Wiggins) secured himself enough bonus seconds to move himself above Rasmus Guldhammer (Cult Energy Pro) into third place overall by trailing Russ Downing (Cult) over the line in second.

Van Baarle took the second intermediate sprint, by which point Pete Williams (One Pro Cycling) had already wrapped up the sprints jersey to go with the mountains classification he won on Saturday.

The break were never allowed further than 20 seconds up the road on the 6.8km circuit, with the race building towards the inevitable sprint finish.

Danilo Wyss, one of BMC's two remaining riders, was the final breakaway member to be mopped up on the 13th lap as Team Sky worked hard on the front for Elia Viviani.

Sir Bradley Wiggins took a huge turn on the front in the closing kilometres of the race to try and bring Doull to the line as the WorldTour sprint trains jockeyed for position.

Lotto-Soudal led under the flamme rouge, signifying the final kilometre, as Sky and Boasson Hagen sat on their wheels.

Going round the final corner, Viviani tried to go up the inside on Greipel but the German seemed to deviate from his line to box Viviani in on the barriers.

The Italian wagged his finger behind Greipel as he crossed the line and the race jury agreed with his plight. Greipel was relegated from first place and everybody moved up a place.

Boasson Hagen's overall win was his second at the Tour of Britain - his first coming in 2009. Doull edged out the Norwegian by one point for the blue points jersey to go along with his podium place in the general classification.

Tour of Britain, stage eight: London (86.8km)

1. Elia Viviani (Ita) Team Sky, 1-50-16

2. Juan Jose Lobato (Esp) Movistar

3. Matteo Trentin (Ita) Etixx-Quick Step

4. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) MTN-Qhubeka

5. Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto-Soudal

6. Sondre Holst Enger (Nor) IAM Cycling

7. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Etixx-Quick Step

8. Graham Briggs (GBr) JLT Condor

9. Ruben Zepunkte (Ger) Cannondale-Garmin

10. Owain Doull (GBr) Team Wiggins, all same time

Final general classification

1. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) MTN-Qhubeka, 34-52-52

2. Wout Poels (Ned) Team Sky, at 13s

3. Owain Doull (GBr) Team Wiggins, at 42s

4. Rasmus Guldhammer (Den) Cult Energy Pro, at 43s

5. Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Etixx-Quick Step,

6. Ruben Fernandez (Esp) Movistar,

7. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo, all at 51s

8. Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale-Garmin, at 53s

9. Chris Anker Sorensen (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo, at 59s

10. Xandro Meurisse (Bel) An Post-Chain Reaction, at 1-02

Stage six of the Aviva Tour of Britain was so frantic that riders declared it one of the toughest day’s racing of their career.

The stage from Stoke to Nottingham traversed the Peak District hills and the terrain, crosswinds and perpetual attacking immediately fractured the race, the grupetto finishing more than 40 minutes in arrears.

Edvald Boasson Hagen, devoid of teammates in the front group, increased his lead from one to 13 seconds from Sky’s Wout Poels after finishing second on the stage behind Etixx-QuickStep's Matteo Trentin.

Boasson Hagen earned nine bonus seconds on the stage, despite Sky spearheading the front bunch for much of the day, neutralising attacks from fellow GC hopefuls who hoped to reduce their deficit.

One of the riders targeting Boasson Hagen’s yellow jersey was Steven Kruijswijk, who was 38 seconds adrift prior to the stage. The LottoNL Jumbo rider finished seventh in this year’s Giro d’Italia and he likened the stage to that of a Grand Tour one.

>>> Boasson Hagen extends Tour of Britain lead as Trentin wins stage six

“If I see the numbers on my power meter it was one of the hardest stages this year. I’d compare it to a Tour [de France] mountain stage with four or five big climbs in it. All day it was up and down,” he told Cycling Weekly. 

“Right from the start, we turned to the right and we had crosswinds. It was attack after attack.

“Everyone was on the limit. After 120k everybody was looking at each other saying ‘we have to do another 70k'.”

Christian Rasmus Quaade, riding for his Cult Energy teammate Rasmus Guldhammer who was in third place 30 seconds back before the stage, spoke in similar tones. “I think it was one of the hardest stages I’ve ever done in my full career,” he said.

“We had to keep Guldhammer in a good position, and then we had to cover all the breakaways and everybody wanted to attack. That was really, really hard.

“We hoped that a breakaway could go away so it would be more easy but everybody wanted to have racing and it was just all day attacking and attacking.”

The Great Britain team had two riders in the front group: Tao Geoghegan Hart and recent Team Sky recruit Alex Peters.

>>> Mark Cavendish ‘can do the Worlds’ despite Tour of Britain crash

“Tao was telling me his TSS [Training Stress Score] was 450 and that is off the scale,” Peters explained. “It was an insane day; how he’s going to recover!?

“It was the hardest stage. The pace was driven by attacks and Sky were pacing it. There was a lot of attacking because everyone had a lot to gain so they were taking the opportunity to attack, attack, attack.”

At the other end of the story, though, is the case of the grupetto riders. Ed Clancy, JLT-Condor’s sprinter who currently props up the overall standings, referred to the race as “the easiest so far. It wasn’t actually that bad, from my point of view,” he said.

“I got dropped on the first climb, got back on on the descent, and by then 30 guys had gone. That was it, we cruised around for the rest of the day.

“Almost everybody contributed at the front just to keep the pace going. It could have been an awful lot worse.”

Officially, riders who finish outside of the time limit - which is determined by 12 per cent of the finishing time - are disqualified. But with 76 riders outside the cut by 11 minutes, all will start stage seven in Fakenham.

“I figured they wouldn't chuck us out as Brad [Wiggins] was in it, too! Most of the guys in the grupetto were chirpy, chatting away,” Clancy added.

“A few of those from the bigger teams who were probably told they needed to be in it had their heads down, just hoping to get to the finish as quickly as they could."

Edvald Boasson Hagen (MTN-Qhubeka) went on the attack in the yellow jersey at the end of stage six of the Tour of Britain and almost won on the day as he extended his lead to 13 seconds.

Matteo Trentin (Etixx-Quick Step), part of the day's strong breakaway, took the win, outsprinting Boasson Hagen in Nottingham to take his team's third win of the race.

The British teams were nowhere to be seen in the day's breakaway, made up entirely of WorldTour teams.

Trentin, Stefan Küng (BMC), Sebastian Langeveld (Cannondale-Garmin), Gorka Izagirre (Movistar), Bram Tankink (LottoNL-Jumbo) and Jens Debusschere (Lotto-Soudal) held a gap of around one minute for most of the stage, with most eventually being caught at 7km to go.

Behind the breakaway, Team Sky worked hard on the front of the peloton all day to bring the gap down with Izagirre a threat to take the yellow jersey should he stay away.

Further back down the road a large grupetto had formed early in the hilly stage, with the likes of Sir Bradley Wiggins (Team Wiggins), Andre Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) and Elia Viviani (Team Sky) in perennial danger of missing the time cut.

With the breakaway stubbornly holding on to a 35s advantage into the final 11km, Sky sent Wout Poels to the front in an attempt to bring them back and even yellow jersey-wearer Boasson Hagen did a very long stint, even continuing after the dangerous men in the break were caught.

Trentin and Küng tried their luck, with the Etixx rider taking a very slender advantage into the final three kilometres. Boasson Hagen, after his hard work on the front, then launched his attack 2.5km from the line, leaving Poels and Taylor Phinney to lead the chase for the Norwegian.

Boasson Hagen caught and passed Trentin, but the Italian sat on his wheel on the run to the line and eventually sped past the Norwegian in the final 100m, with the chasing pack crossing the line four seconds later.

Young Brit Owain Doull continued his impressive week by finishing third, while Thursday's stage winner Wout Poels remains in second, 13 seconds back on Boasson Hagen.

Tour of Britain, stage five: Stoke-on-Trent - Nottingham (192.7km)

1. Matteo Trentin (Ita) Etixx-Quick Step, 4-45-27

2. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) MTN-Qhubeka, st

3. Owain Doull (GBr) Team Wiggins, at 4s

4. Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Etixx – Quick-Step

5. Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto-Soudal

6. Alberto Bettiol (Ita) Cannondale-Garmin

7. Alex Peters (GBr) Great Britain

8. Dylan Theuns (Bel) BMC

9. Xandro Meurisse (Bel) An Post-Chain Reaction

10. Wouter Poels (Ned) Team Sky, all same time

Overall classification after stage five

1. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) MTN-Qhubeka, in 27-47-54

2. Wout Poels (Ned) Team Sky, at 13s

3. Rasmus Guldhammer (Den) Cult Energy, at 43s

4. Owain Doull (GBr) Team Wiggins, at 44s

5. Dylan Teuns (Bel) BMC, at 51s

6. Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Etixx – Quick-Step

7. Ruben Fernandez (Esp) Movistar

8. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo

9. Xandro Meurisse (Bel) An Post-Chain Reaction

10. Chris Anker Sorensen (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo, all same time

The mission to defend the Aviva Tour of Britain yellow jersey is a complicated one for Edvald Boasson Hagen who is expecting Team Sky to disrupt the current standings.

The MTN-Qhubeka rider, winner of the race in 2009 courtesy of four stage victories, was overtaken and beaten before the line at the summit of Hartside Fell on Wednesday by Sky’s Wouter Poels.

But he minimised his losses enough and bonus seconds of six, added to the four he collected in Blyth on Wednesday, are enough to give him a one second lead over the Dutchman, which if maintained would see him become the first ever double-winner of the modern race.

>>> Six reasons why you cannot miss Friday’s Tour of Britain stage

Boasson-Hagen, though, is not likely to instruct his MTN team-mates to take position at the front of the peloton for the duration of tomorrow’s stage from Stoke to Nottingham, the final stage where time gaps are likely to be forthcoming in the general classification.

Instead, it is in Sky’s hands to dispose him of the lead. “I tried to go as fast as possible [at the end of the stage] but I don’t know if one second is good or bad,” he said.

“It might be better for us as a team if he [Poels] had the jersey but still we work and try to keep it. I’m happy to have the jersey but tomorrow’s stage will be hard.

“They have been taking responsibility and they really want to win but they’ve already won a lot of stages [three] but they have to be careful to what they can do.

“I just have to follow and try to ride smart. I need to try and defend the jersey.”

>>> Sky’s Wout Poels wins Tour of Britain stage five as Boasson Hagen claims overall lead

The advantage for Boasson Hagen is that his sprinting capabilities can claim him bonus points, and if a fractured leading bunch is formed after the Peak District hills tomorrow, there are two sprints in the final 35km offering bonus seconds that the Norwegian could add to his lead.

The weekend’s final two sprint stages, too, could offer the Norwegian national champion an opportunity for more bonus seconds, something Poels is aware of.

Watch: Secrets of the Toolbox - MTN-Qhubeka

“Boasson Hagen is a really good sprinter so it’s going to be hard for me but tomorrow’s a hard stage,” Poels commented. “One second is not a lot but it can be enough.

“It would be nice if I could take time but he is in really good shape so it’s going to be a really close battle.”

“It’s going to be really close all the way to the end,” Boasson Hagen cautiously noted.

“I will fight as hard as possible but, still, there’s many hard stages to go and we will see day by day.

“It’s a better feeling to cross the line in first but now I wear the jersey, it doesn’t mean I’ve won it.”

Edvald Boasson Hagen will return to the Aviva Tour of Britain for the first time since winning the race in 2009 as MTN-Qhubeka announced the first riders in their squad.

The Norwegian triumphed six years ago by winning four consecutive stages in the middle of the tour, which started in Scunthorpe before visiting the north east, Scotland, the South West and London.

Boasson Hagen was part of a successful MTN-Qhubeka team at the Tour de France, claiming five top-10 finishes himself in the three weeks, following it up with strong performances in the Tour of Denmark and the Arctic Race of Norway.

"I have good memories from winning stages in the Aviva Tour of Britain in the past, and look forward to come back to race there again. My form has been pretty good over the last few weeks, so I hope to get some good results in some of the stages", says Boasson Hagen.

>>> Tour of Britain 2015 route: stage by stage

Fellow former Team Sky rider Serge Pauwels will join Boasson Hagen on the start line in Anglesey on September 6 having also excelled at the Tour - finishing 13th overall.

"We are always pleased to welcome back former winners of the Aviva Tour of Britain so are delighted to see Edvald returning to the race,” said race director Mick Bennett.

"This is a very strong line-up from MTN-Qhubeka, showing a real sign of intent and their ambitions towards the race. In particular we are excited to welcome Daniel Teklehaimanot to make his debut at the Aviva Tour of Britain after his strong showing in the Tour de France.”

The Aviva Tour of Britain departs Anglesey for Wrexham before heading north through Cumbria into Scotland. From there the route winds down to the East Midlands and heads out into East Anglia and finishing in London.

After five seasons at Team Sky, Edvald Boasson Hagen has now begun a new chapter at team MTN-Qhubeka. The Norwegian has changed his training regime as well as changing teams, and put on weight under the guidance of his former trainer as he aims for the 2015 Spring Classics.

When asked how many kilograms he has put on, the quiet 27 year old said: "Quite a lot. A few. Hopefully it's more power. We'll see. I'm not a climber anyway. I've tried to be more skinny and it doesn't really work. Now, I'll try to have more muscles."

He began his season in Spain and raced the Tour of Qatar last week. He will continue racing in the Middle East, starting in the Tour of Oman on Tuesday.

>>> Edvald Boasson Hagen: Rider profile

Boasson Hagen shot to the top immediately with team Columbia-HTC winning the 2009 Ghent-Wevelgem, a Giro d'Italia stage and the Eneco Tour. With Sky, he won two stages in the 2011 Tour de France – the team's first in the race before Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome came along to win the overall.

During that peak, there was talk that Boasson Hagen could even develop into a Grand Tour rider. Soon, though, he won less and in last year did not enjoy a single victory.

Boasson Hagen has now changed a few things, starting with his team. He signed for South Africa's Professional Continental team, MTN-Qhubeka, which already received the green light to race the 2015 Tour de France. Next, he returned to former trainer and mentor, Norwegian Fredrik Mohn.

Sky asked in 2012 that he only work with its coaching staff as it requested of its other cyclists.

"After five years, it's good to try something new, a new team. I was really happy where I was, but now it's really nice with good team-mates and good staff," he said.

"I haven't been focusing much on my weight, just working to get more strength and muscles, and I'm a bit heavier. I worked on my core and my legs, but I put on more everywhere. I know it [the exact kilogrammes], but it doesn't really matter."

>>> MTN-Qhubeka to become first African team to compete at Tour de France

Mohn had his client lifting weights in the gym, spinning on his turbo trainer and skiing in the Norwegian countryside.

"I think that's working well for me," Boasson Hagen continued. "It's still early, but so far it feels good."

He said that he is aiming at the classics and the Tour. MTN will be Africa's first team in the French stage race and Boasson Hagen, as he did with Sky, wants to help the team to its first win.

"Just to win races again," he explained. "Last year I didn't win races, but this year I want to be back and win races."

Two-time Tour de France green jersey winner, Thor Hushovd, revealed he threatened to slap countryman Edvald Boasson Hagen if he decided to join Tinkoff-Saxo in 2015.

Former Team Sky rider, Boasson Hagen, reportedly turned down the chance to ride alongside Peter Sagan in favour of resurrecting his career at MTN-Qhubeka.

And Hushovd, who was crowned world champion in 2010, told Norway’s TV2 that Boasson Hagen would not have been a good fit in Oleg Tinkov’s squad.

“I said: Edvald, you shouldn't sign for Tinkoff. I think it is the wrong choice. If you do, then I'll give you a slap,” Hushovd revealed.

“With the image of Bjarne Riis and the team, in addition Peter Sagan had signed for them, Edvald wouldn't evolve into the rider he was in his best years at Sky.”

>>> Edvald Boasson Hagen’s fresh start at MTN-Qhubeka

Boasson Hagen’s apparent U-turn reportedly angered Tinkov, but Hushovd feels the step down to the UCI Pro Continental level will do the Norwegian good, citing his own career as an example.

“I probably should not have mixed in, but I only want the best for Edvald,” Hushovd continued. “He is a good guy, and I know from my own career that such choices are difficult.

“I told him about my history from the time of Cervelo, which like MTN Qhubeka was a small and unknown team. To go there was the best choice I've made in my career.”

Edvald Boassan Hagen has made Paris-Roubaix his main aim for the season, and though he admits it is a 'lofty goal,' he says it could be the defining victory of his career.

The Norweigian left Team Sky at the end of 2014 to join African outfit MTN-Qhubeka in order to gain further leadership opportunities, and will now proceed with a full classics campaign as well as looking ahead to the Tour de France in July.

"The first objective is Paris-Roubaix," he told Biciclismo. "I know it's a lofty goal. It is the classic I like most because it is very hard, for both the course and the competition.

Winning is a great goal, but it must be so, because no-one remembers second or third. I would also be happy with a top 10, but my goal is to win in Roubaix and get a big win in my career."

Boasson Hagen's first one-day race will be at the semi-classic Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, before moving on to Milan-San Remo, which was won by the 27-year-old's teammate Gerald Ciolek in 2013. Competition for places at MTN has become greater since a number of high-profile sprint signings in the off-season, including Matt Gos, Tyler Farrar and Theo Boss, but Boasson Hagen believes there will be enough space for everyone to get their chance during the season.

"I want to have a good overall performance in all the classics, from San Remo to Roubaix," he said. "They are all events that are followed and it is important for me and the team to do well.

"I do not think it's a problem [having so many sprinters], it's about working well together and winning races. That is the main objective. I'm sure there are opportunities for everyone.

Edvald Boasson Hagen may be re-born for the 2015 season after leaving Sky for a fresh start at Africa's MTN-Qhubeka team.

"We signed Tyler Farrar and Matt Goss, as well. These riders are not lost souls," Team Principal Doug Ryder told Cycling Weekly.

"[Gerald] Ciolek was inspired by our team to ride better. Our team is motivating and inspiring, and it does get the best out of people. That's what these guys have seen and why they are attracted to our team."

Germany’s Ciolek raced for first division teams like Omega Pharma but took a chance to sign for South Africa's MTN team ahead of 2013, its first year in the second division. Three months in, he won Milan-San Remo in MTN's yellow and black colours.

MTN-Qhubeka receives support from Africa’s telecommunications giant MTN and from electronics manufacturer Samsung. Qhubeka is a non-profit group designed to provide poor Africans with bicycles in exchange for good deeds, such as growing 100 trees to 10 centimetres.

The team featured an 18:8 mix of Africans to non-Africans for 2014. Ryder and General Manager Brian Smith hired more experienced hands to help their budding Africans like South African Louis Meintjes and Eritrean Merhawi Kudus.

Norway's Boasson Hagen, now 27 years old, won the Tour of Britain, a stage in the Critérium du Dauphiné and in the Giro d'Italia, and the Ghent-Wevelgem classic with HTC-Highroad in 2008 and 2009. Insiders believed he had the talent to win a grand tour one day, or at least dominate the classics, but hopes faded over the following years.

‘Eddy’ won less over the next five years in the British super team. He took two stages in the 2011 Tour de France and the 2012 GP Ouest Plouay, but faded to zero wins in 2014.

"When I saw him racing for the first time in 2008 at the Tour of Britain, he was just like a kid and just smashed everyone. He seemed to get a bit lost, didn't seem to race for himself and plans changed," Ryder said.

"If you look at the Japan Cup where he finished second and in the Tour of Beijing this month, he rode well. You don't turn a donkey into a race horse, and he's definitely not a donkey. He's just a race horse who seems to have a thorn in his foot that we just have to take out.

“With the respect and support he will have in our team, he'll have an incredible couple of years on our team. He's by no means done."

Besides their experience, the new cyclists should help MTN have a better chance of riding in the 2015 Tour de France. Last year, it was just on the cusp of selection, and this year it wants one of the wildcard invitations on offer form organiser ASO.

"There's still massive interest around Edvald. The ASO spoke to us about him, 'Well done for signing Edvald.' People still see his potential.

"Some are quite harsh, when you are going poorly they kick you. That's going to motivate him to a great performance. He'll have a good winter and come out well for 2015."

Boasson Hagen leaves Sky for MTN-Qhubeka

Steve Cummings signs to MTN-Qhubeka

Briton Steve Cummings leaves BMC Racing to join South African team MTN-Qhubeka for 2015

Matt Goss signs with MTN-Qhubeka

Australian Matt Goss moves from Orica-GreenEdge to join African outfit MTN-Qhubeka

Tyler Farrar joins MTN-Qhubeka for 2015

American sprinter Tyler Farrar leaves Garmin-Sharp after seven years to join South African outfit MTN-Qhubeka

Edvald Boasson Hagen will leave team Sky after five years and join South Africa's second division MTN-Qhubeka team next year. The team announced today that it inked a contract with the Norwegian for 2015 and 2016.

"We believe he is one of the best riders in the world and we look forward to seeing him achieve great results for himself as well as mentor our young African talents," team principal, Douglas Ryder said.

"We want to become one of the best teams in the world to assist the African riders to get into the biggest races in cycling and this is a huge step in that direction."

Boasson Hagen remains a huge talent even if the results have not come in as he would have wanted over the last couple of years at Sky. His last wins were in 2013, with the national championship time trial, stages and the overall of the Glava Tour of Norway, and a stage in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

In his palmarès, however, he counts two stages of the Tour de France, 2011 and 2009 Eneco Tour, the 2011 Vattenfall Cyclassics, the 2012 GP Ouest France-Plouay and the 2009 Gent-Wevelgem when he was only 21 years old. If he fails to give MTN immediate results then, as Ryder said, he will at least be able to support its young and inexperienced Africans.

"The African riders I have seen race this year and I hope to help them with my experience as they are great talents. The other thing I really enjoy is this team does not just race for themselves but for a charity," said Boasson Hagen.

"It's been five great seasons with Team Sky, but the time has come to seek new challenges. After some consideration, this is the team I most of all want to ride for in the future. They are upgrading the team for next season, but already this year they have received wild cards for most of the races I would like to do next year. The team takes part in the Vuelta right now, which is their first Grand Tour. For next year they are targeting the Tour. So I feel safe about the race programme."

Prior to joining Sky in its debut year 2010, the 27-year-old raced for HTC-Highroad and Norwegian continental team, Maxbo Bianchi.

Edvald Boasson Hagen has withdrawn from the Giro d'Italia, suffering from injuries sustained after crashing during the race's opening week, and will not start Tuesday's stage 16.

The Norwegian's withdrawal with persistent rib and back pain leaves another hole in Team Sky's Giro line-up after the squad also lost Kanstantsin Siutsou to a crash on Stage 14 on Saturday.

"I'm sad to be leaving the race but I couldn't risk my injuries getting worse and affecting my longer-term fitness," said Boasson Hagen. "I'm going to rest up now but I'll be back in training as soon as possible and am looking forward to competing again already."

Team Sky's medical officer, Steve Bayne, said: "Edvald has been experiencing rib and back pain over the last couple of days, and with the cuts and bruises he's already sustained, the medical team felt the best decision was for him to withdraw from the race at this point."

So far, Sky has been without a win in the Giro despite concerted efforts by sprinter Ben Swift, and attacks by Dario Cataldo and Phillip Deignan. Richie Porte and Peter Kennaugh were both non-starters in the race after suffering from illness.

According to Sky, Boasson Hagen has travelled back to Oslo to rest and recuperate before the remainder of the season.

Dario Cataldo comes close to Giro d'Italia stage win for Team Sky

Close second place for Dario Cataldo on stage 14 as he is passed by Enrico Bataglin in final metres

Team Sky's quietest Grand Tour yet

With no wins so far in the 2014 Giro d'Italia, Team Sky has had its quietest Grand Tour outing since

Geraint Thomas is confident late replacement Bradley Wiggins will slot smoothly into Sky’s classics squad ahead of Sunday’s Tour of Flanders.

Thomas is set to lead the outfit at the second Monument of the season that Wiggins was drawn from the reserve list for following Ian Stannard’s crash at last week’s Gent-Wevelgem.

Paris-Roubaix hopeful Stannard fractured a thoracic vertebra when he landed in a ditch at the semi-classic. The Het Nieuwsblad champion’s absence will be felt at the gritty Flanders epic this weekend.

“After breakfast he’s the one that I’m sort of left with just chatting, chilling with another coffee when everyone else goes off,” Thomas joked with seven journalists at a relaxed press conference in Kortrijk today. “No, I think he will be missed because he’s one of the strongest guys for the classics anyway. He was a key guy for us but Brad is just as strong, you know, positioning wise and things. Whether he can be there when it matters we’ll soon see.”

Flanders is an addition to Wiggins’s schedule, which initially only included Wednesday’s Scheldeprijs as well as Paris-Roubaix that he is said to have high hopes for.

The strength in numbers tactic Sky employed at Het Nieuwsblad, in which Edvald Boasson Hagen, who also spoke to press today, finished third, has become a model for the team. Thomas emphasised the importance of it multiple times when talking race strategy and how to weaken defending champion Fabian Cancellara (Trek) as well as race favourites Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) and young prodigy Peter Sagan (Cannondale).

“As long as you’ve got a teammate up the road you’ve always got that excuse to sit on,” Thomas said. “But they know that as well so they’re going to race accordingly.”

Thomas will make his fourth career appearance at the Ronde on Sunday and experience, as with anyone, will be a key factor in this 2014 campaign.

Sky is without skilled classics veteran Mathew Hayman, who transferred to Orica-GreenEdge at the end of last year. However, Thomas has benefited from his own experience as well as that of the Australian. The British squad can also call on the knowledge Austrian captain Bernhard Eisel.

“I think doing the recon [on Thursday] was the first time I really had an idea of where it was,” Thomas said of the 260km course.

“It takes a few years because there’s so many lefts and rights and a little climb here and descent there. When Hayman was in the team he was always talking about, ‘we do the descent in E3, we go up that now, we take that left here, instead of that right in Nieuwsbald'.

"You’re like, ‘how the hell did you know all of that?’ But the more you race here the more you get dialed into it and know where you are. That makes a big difference as well.”

Thomas finished third at E3-Harelbeke, which is popularly considered a Flanders test event, last weekend, putting the hammer down on the Kwaremont in a decisive move that helped determine the final race selection.

The 27-year-old may employ a similar "spontaneous" tactic on Sunday.

“In Paris-Nice on [stage four] where I was second to [Tom] Slagter [in a two-up sprint] I just went because, I didn’t even think about it, I just went,” he said. “In E3 as well, it was the same on the Kwaremont. I felt okay so I just thought, why not? Go and see what happens.

"You know the little window of where you really need to be in front, switch on and see how it goes from there.”

Sky also has a podium contender in Boasson Hagen should the race come back together at the finish.

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Bradley Wiggins to ride Tour of Flanders

Bradley Wiggins added to Team Sky's roster for Sunday's Tour of Flanders

Sky DS Servais Knaven confident Bradley Wiggins will fit into classics squad

Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins a welcome addition to Sky classics squad

Ian Stannard out of Classics with fractured vertebra

Ian Stannard (Team Sky) will miss out on Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix after fracturing vertebrae in Ghent-Wevelgem crash

Ian Stannard wins Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

Ian Stannard becomes first British winner of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad after out-sprinting Greg Van Avermaet

Geraint Thomas moving towards cobbled classic win

Geraint Thomas was one of the strongest riders during Friday's E3 Harelbeke, eventually placing third behind Peter Sagan and Niki

Peter Sagan wins E3 Harelbeke as Geraint Thomas places third

Four-man escape group survives chase to contend race win in Belgium

Geraint Thomas withdraws from Paris-Nice after crash

Geraint Thomas forced to pull out of Paris-Nice after crashing in final five kilometres of stage seven on Saturday

Tom-Jelte Slagter takes second Paris-Nice stage win as Geraint Thomas crashes out of top 10

Nasty crash in final 5km of Saturday's stage sees Geraint Thomas drop well out of top 10 overall

Geraint Thomas keeps Paris-Nice lead after stage five goes to Carlos Betancur

Team Sky's Geraint Thomas defended his lead at Paris-Nice race lead after Carlos Betancur (Ag2r-La Mondiale) took the victory on

Geraint Thomas leads Paris-Nice after stage four

Geraint Thomas (Sky) has moved into the overall lead at Paris-Nice after finishing second on the fourth stage to Dutchman