Paul Magnier seals Tour of Britain hattrick as Wales’ Stevie Williams retains race lead

Frenchman Paul Magnier completed a hat-trick of stage wins on the Tour of Britain with victory in a bunched finish on day five in Northampton.

The 20-year-old Soudal Quick-Step rider had followed up his opening stage win with another on Friday from Derby to Newark.

In the general classification standings, Wales’ Stevie Williams (Israel-Premier Tech) continues to hold a 16-second lead over compatriot Oscar Onley (dsm-firmenich PostNL) with Mark Donovan (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) some 40 seconds off the pace in third.

Saturday’s penultimate fifth stage saw a 147-kilometre westward loop around Northamptonshire, with climbs at Newnham Hill and Bullshill before a finish back towards the town centre’s Guildhall.

A three-rider break of Connor Swift (Ineos Grenadiers), Rasmus Pedersen (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Matt Holmes (Great Britain) were eventually hauled in by the chasing peloton heading into the final kilometre.

Ethan Vernon (Israel Premier-Tech) took on the sprint for the line, but Magnier timed his move to perfection to claim another stage win with Erlend Blikra (Uno-X Mobility) finishing third.

Magnier will now target equalling the record of four individual stage wins during the same Tour of Britain when the event comes to a close in Suffolk on Sunday over 158km from Lowestoft to Felixstowe.