THE Tour of Britain yesterday paid a fleeting visit to Scotland with a 95-mile stage from Glasgow to Drumlanrig Castle in Dumfriesshire that all but confirmed the Frenchman Geoffrey Lequatre as the overall winner. Today's final stage is a flattish 68.5 miles from Blackpool to Liverpool, which is unlikely to provoke a reshuffle, and means that, barring an accident, Lequatre will become the second successive French winner after his team-mate Romain Feillu last year.
"Probably," shrugged the Frenchman when asked whether he is on the verge of a career-best victory. "But the final is tomorrow."
Yesterday, on the long ascent of the Mennock Pass, he came under a sustained assault from Steve Cummings, the British r
ider placed second, six seconds back. Cummings rode clear with Frederik Veuchelen, the rider in seventh, forcing Lequatre's Agritubel team to launch a frantic chase. By the summit, the pair had been brought to heel, but it had been a brave bid by Cummings, and a determined one: with his riding on the climb he ate into the advantage of the leading eight-man break, reducing it from seven to two minutes.
Once Cummings and Veuchelen had been captured, the pressure went off in the peloton, and the eight escapees increased their advantage again. It meant that it was they who decided the stage in the stunning grounds of Drumlanrig Castle, with the young Norwegian, Edvald Boasson Hagen, easily the strongest to claim his third win of the British tour, a remarkable haul.
The race had been flagged off from a rainy Glasgow Green, making its way south through some of the less salubrious parts of the city. The Tour of Britain, which is funded by local development agencies and councils, is intended as a promotional vehicle for towns and cities, which generally go to great lengths to showcase their finest and most picturesque features.
Not Glasgow, with the route taking the 90 riders and entourage – with attendant TV cameras – through industrial parks and housing schemes that only appeared even more depressing in the drizzle. Crowds were non-existent, making the scene one of unremitting bleakness: it was no wonder that the race got off to such a fast start.
Into East Kilbride, and on to Strathaven, the race hurtled along, with attack after attack, the most prominent among the aggressors Danilo Di Luca, the winner of his home Giro d'Italia in 2007, and so it was no surprise that he made it into the eight-man break that went clear after 24 miles, on the moor road to Muirkirk. Among his companions were Boasson Hagen, Matt Goss and Julian Dean, though, disappointingly, there were no British riders among them.
Big crowds lined the climbs of Nerston, Crawford John and the Mennock Pass, but the biggest surprise was the turnout in the grounds of Drumlanrig Castle: large numbers lined the road leading to the finish, where they witnessed a late bid for glory by Cameron Meyer, of the South Australia team. Meyer attacked with 2km to go and looked like he might hold them off, before Dean, the New Zealander, began his sprint early, 500 metres from the line.
"I was last man in the group when Dean started his sprint," said Boasson Hagen later, "but I gave it full gas and managed to catch him and win." The 21-year-old won by several lengths, with Goss, the winner on Monday, second.
Lequatre is an engaging character, with a keen interest in fashion and design and his own line in clothing. In the absence of the hoped-for British victor – despite the home riders giving their best showing in a decade – he would be a popular winner today in Liverpool. Sitting against the spectacular backdrop of Drumlanrig Castle last night, he offered a surreal but approving verdict on the detour to Scotland.
"It was very beautiful," said the 27-year-old. "There was nobody there! Just lots of sheep and very nice walls. It felt very pure. It was difficult, but beautiful."
The full article contains 677 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
