Ian Stannard (Team Sky) won stage three of the Tour of Britain from Congleton to Knutsford with an aggressive ride in the country lanes and rolling hills of northwest England.
The British Classics rider was part of the break of the day with Kristian House (ONE Pro Cycling), Graham Briggs (JTL Condor) and Matt Cronshaw (Madison Genesis) that opened a six-minute lead on the peloton. None of them were a threat to the overall lead of stage two winner Julian Vermote (Etixx-QuickStep) and so were given a chance to pursuit the stage victory.
Stannard attacked alone with 41km to go after the long but steady Cat and Fiddle climb in the rugged Peak District. He powered his way to the finish to savour a special solo victory. Briggs won the sprint for second place at 1:46, with House sitting up to take third place after leading out the sprint.
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The peloton refused to help the Dimension Data team organise a chase and rode steady throughout the stage, finishing almost six minutes behind Stannard, with Nicola Ruffoni (Bardiani-CSF) winning a surprisingly hotly contested sprint for fourth place.
Stannard was proud to have won his first ever stage of his national tour. It was also his first victory since he outfoxed three Etixx-Quick Step riders in the final at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in 2015. He was extra happy to greet his partner and young family at the finish after riding on what are now his local training roads when he is at home in Britain.
"It's a pretty big day for me. I was motivated for this stage because it was pretty much on home roads," Stannard said. "I was keen to get away. It's always nice to win from a breakaway and go solo too. I really enjoyed it today. I knew I want to go over the top of the Cat and Fiddle with about five minutes on the peloton, we'd have a chance on the run-in then. I heard it went out but I didn't know much more. I was just happy to be up there. It as special to be racing at home."
How it happened
The Cat and Fiddle
— Tour of Britain (@TourofBritain) September 6, 2016
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