Half of peloton go off course in Tour of Britain stage five finale
Cees Bol of Team DSM among riders unfortunate enough to be diverted wrong way


The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Thank you for signing up to The Pick. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Half of the peloton at the Tour of Britain did not take part in the sprint at the end of stage five after they ended up on the wrong side of the barriers in the final kilometre.
A central reservation without barriers on the right hand side led to tens of riders riding off the course and therefore away from the stage finish.
Among those to end up on the wrong side of the barriers was Cees Bol (DSM), one of the favourites for the flat finish, who won stage two earlier this week.
In his absence, Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe) was able to comfortably win the reduced bunch sprint in Mansfield.
Max Poole (DSM), Bol's teammate, was also one of the unfortunate riders: "It was coming into the final, the inside was left open, but you had to go left. Half the field went left, half the field went right. Someone had to open the barrier.
"Cees and Marius [Mayrhofer] went right, so a bit of a shame. It was a lot of people, I don't understand how you can leave the inside of a bend open. It's a bit of a mess."
In the end, some riders were left to climb over the barriers to get back on course, and finished the day 36 seconds behind the leading group, although they have now been given the same time as the lead finishers.
Matt Gibson (Human Powered Health) was a sprinter hoping to show his speed on the flat finish in Mansfield.
"We had to climb back over the barriers, about half the field went the wrong way," he told Cycling Weekly. "About 50 people didn't get a chance to go for a result today, which sucks after you've put so much effort in over 180km. The longest stage to then have the opportunity taken away from you in the last km.
"I've had things where you've crashed or gone the wrong way by accident, but that was avoidable. The organisation could have put barriers one side and then it wouldn't have been a problem.
"I knew immediately because I heard in the meeting that there would probably be barriers on the left hand side," Gibson continued. "I wasn't in a situation where I could turn left to go across because there was quite a few people on my left hand side. If I had tried, it probably would have caused a crash.
"I had no choice but to go right. It's disappointing definitely, especially on what was the most obvious sprint stage."
No crash or major incident was caused by the misdirection, but it did lead to many missed opportunities for those in the peloton hoping for a result.
"The road was completely open with 1km to go, and then half the peloton were on the right side, watching the guys sprinting on the left," Anders Skaarseth (Uno-X) said. "We were behind the barriers watching with the spectators. It was a quite fun experience, a new one. We had to climb over the fence, or a marshal let us through. It was pretty special.
"It was just a wasted day actually, riding 180kms and then being sent the wrong way with 500m to go. All three of us went the wrong way, so it was over for us. Really weird, but things like this happen."
A statement from the race organisers said that all the affected riders were given the same time as the lead group.
“Approaching the finish in Mansfield a group of riders failed to take the race route on the correct side of the carriageway inside the final kilometre," a spokesperson said.
“We are investigating why the route at this point was not clearly marked and that this was able to happen.
“All affected riders have been credited with the same time.”
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!

Adam is Cycling Weekly’s senior news and feature writer – his greatest love is road racing but as long as he is cycling on tarmac, he's happy. Before joining Cycling Weekly he spent two years writing for Procycling, where he interviewed riders and wrote about racing, speaking to people as varied as Demi Vollering to Philippe Gilbert. Before cycling took over his professional life, he covered ecclesiastical matters at the world’s largest Anglican newspaper and politics at Business Insider. Don't ask how that is related to cycling.
-
-
Stefan Küng suffers concussion and broken hand in dramatic European Championships TT crash
Groupama-FDJ's Swiss rider forced to end season as a result of injuries
By Adam Becket Published
-
Tech Question: We're used to racers on narrow bars - but are they more comfortable, too?
We ask the experts what to look for in determining the optimal handlebar width
By Joe Baker Published
-
'It was my legs that let me down': Stevie Williams ‘proud’ of Tour of Britain final day performance
Welshman takes heart from impressive showing in South Wales, as he looked like he might win the stage and overall
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Wout van Aert 'forced to fight' for second Tour of Britain victory
‘I had to stay calm’ says the Belgian after Carlos Rodriguez piles on the pressure on tough final stage in Caerphilly
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Wout van Aert wins Tour of Britain by three seconds as Carlos Rodríguez solos to stage eight victory
Jumbo-Visma rider repeats 2021 success to win the race for a second time
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Tour of Britain stage eight neutralised due to non-racing incident
Race temporarily halted with 83 kilometres remaining to the finish in Caerphilly
By Tom Thewlis Last updated
-
Brexit and cash strapped councils - Tour of Britain director responds to criticism of 'boring' race
SweetSpot’s Mick Bennett says social media criticism of the race being 'boring' has been 'hard to hear'
By Tom Thewlis Last updated
-
‘The ultimate goal is the Tour de France’ - How Tour de Tietema went from YouTube pranks to pro ranks
TDT-Unibet are on a mission to reach the top of the sport, and they're having fun along the way
By Tom Davidson Published
-
‘It will be a matter of legs’ - Wout van Aert in confident mindset ahead of Tour of Britain finale
Belgian says attack was the best form of defence for Jumbo-Visma after race explodes in Gloucestershire
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
‘It was a crazy plan’ - Wout van Aert on his stunning solo Tour of Britain stage win
Belgian superstar says it’s now ‘up to the others’ to attack him as Jumbo-Visma rider takes over race lead
By Tom Thewlis Published