NORWAY'S Edvald Boasson Hagen breathed a huge sigh of relief in Stoke after landing the fourth stage of the Tour of Britain.
The Team Columbia rider, who finished 71st in the Olympic road race in Beijing last month, took advantage of Emilien Berges' late puncture to cross the line in pole position.
Boasson Hagen appeared to be dead and buried after losing ground on LP
R Brakes' Giairo Ermeti on the uphill finish but the Norwegian still had something left to retake the lead in the dash for the line. Liverpool's Steve Cummings finished in second in the general classification.
Great Britain's Ian Stannard is also in the hunt in fourth while fellow Brit Ben Swift took the polka-dot jersey off Kristian House and Roger Hammond who kept hold of the lead in the points competition.
Meanwhile, Edinburgh rider Evan Oliphant, who tried to force the pace early but was quickly reeled in by the chasing peloton, finished 37th.
"I saw that there was a bit of a gap right at the start of the race and I tried my best to get away twice but I couldn't and I really paid for it," he said.
• SEE the race every evening on ITV4 between 8 and 9 – or for all the latest information on the Tour head to www.tourofbritain.co.uk
The full article contains 227 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
