Tom Pidcock has sealed one of the biggest road wins of his career so far after taking victory in the overall classification at the Tour Alsace.
The Wiggins Le Col rider defended his slender lead over the final two stages of the five-day race after rising up the GC following his win on stage two atop the summit of La Planche des Belles Filles.
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Pidcock finished third on stage four, taking the same time as stage winner Tim Merlier (Corendon-Circus), to protect his slim 11 second lead over Michal Schlegel (Elkov-Author).
Following the opening prologue, Pidcock found himself only seven seconds down on GC as his trio (teams were split into two groups of three for the race against the clock) placed fourth, with the winning Corendon-Circus squad containing David van der Poel, the brother of Amstel Gold Race winner Mathieu.
Pidcock took out a 36 second lead with his stage two victory, and finished 13th on stage three, 36 seconds down on stage winner Schlegel, unable to replicate his performance on a second consecutive summit finish.
After the penultimate stage three, Pidcock said: "Can’t be more grateful for the boys help today. It was a hectic day even with a bike change on the final climb, just one more day to go."
He then successfully defended his lead on stage four, sprinting to a third place finish and taking the peloton's time across the line to seal the overall victory.
The Tour Alsace is a UCI 2.2 race, held in the Alsace region of France, with previous winners including Max Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) in 2016, Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) in 2010 and Wilco Kelderman (Sunweb) in 2009.
This victory provides a second highlight for Pidcock in 2019, who became the first British winner of Paris-Roubaix U23, attacking from 20km out and solo-ing to victory, following up his win in the junior race in 2017.
Results
Tour Alsace 2019, final general classification
1. Tom Pidcock (GBr) Wiggins Le Col, in 14-44-41
2. Michal Schlegel (Cze) Elkov-Author, at 17 seconds
3. Jimmy Janssens (Bel) Corendon-Circus, at 35s
4. Kevin Inkelaar (Ned) Groupama-FDJ development team, at 38s
5. Attila Valter (Hun) CCC development team, at 46s
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