Olav Kooij (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) stormed to victory on stage one of the Lloyds Tour of Britain from Woodbridge to Southwold, after a nail-biting uphill sprint finish.
Tord Gudmestad (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) was a surprise runner-up, having launched his sprint early, while Hugo Hofstetter (Israel – Premier Tech) finished third.
Sam Watson (INEOS Grenadiers) was the first British rider to cross the line in sixth place, while his teammate Geraint Thomas recovered from a late puncture to finish with the main field in his final race before retirement.
The win, Kooij’s fifth career stage victory at the race following his 2023 debut, puts the Dutchman into the first leader’s jersey of this year’s race after his team controlled the race for almost the entire day.
The finish in Southwold was a cautious affair, with several sprint teams battling for position at the front of the peloton. At one point, it looked as though Team Visma | Lease a Bike were fading from the contest, but the Dutch team moved to the front for a final time with just over 1.1km remaining and set the pace through the last two tight corners before launching Kooij to victory.
British rider Matthew Brennan was the last Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider to provide Kooij with assistance, with the 20-year-old hitting the front with around 300 meters to go. Brennan kept the pace high as the bunch hit a powerful headwind, but Gudmestad came from nowhere with a surge from the middle of the pack. His momentum created what looked like a winning gap, but Kooij was wise to the move and quickly jumped on the Norwegian’s back wheel before coming past inside the last few meters to take the eighth win of his season.
“It’s a really good feeling, of course, it’s always nice to win a race, and I have good memories from here two years ago. I was happy to go back to this race, and I’m really happy to continue the success of two years ago,” Kooij said after his win.
“We knew we wanted to end the last corner in a good position, which the guys did perfectly. We were there first, then I felt a really strong headwind and a little rise, so then waited for the right moment. I didn’t have much time to focus on the crowds, but it was really good seeing them at the start and at the finish. It’s always nice to see people out enjoying the race,” he added.
The first stage of the Lloyds Tour of Britain Men saw a field of 114 riders sign on in the scenic setting of Woodbridge, with crowds coming to watch the premier men’s race on the domestic calendar and to catch a glimpse of Geraint Thomas as the Welshman started his final event as a professional rider before retiring after a distinguished career on the road and on the track.
Once the flag was dropped, it didn’t take long for the attacks to begin, but the day’s main break was established fairly quickly with Diego Uriarte (Equipo Kern Pharma), Milan Lanhove (Team Flanders – Baloise), Victor Vercouillie (Team Flanders – Baloise), and Joshua Golliker (Great Britain Cycling Team) forming the day’s breakaway.
The quartet established a lead of almost three minutes, and Team Visma | Lease a Bike showed their intent by setting the pace at the front of the peloton almost immediately. With the stage win and the first leader’s jersey up for grabs, the Dutch squad were determined to keep the break in check, and by the time the leaders hit the 50km to go mark, their advantage hovered around the 1:30 mark.
Lanhove won the King of the Mountains points on the only categorised climb of Mill Hill, while at the front of the field, Loe van Belle kept the pace high for Visma and the rest of the peloton. The points on Mill Hill earned Lanhove the first KOM jersey of this year’s race, but with 25km to go, the peloton had the break at 38 seconds as the race passed through Shipmeadow.
With 16km remaining, only Vercouillie was left from the lead group, and despite a valiant effort, the Belgian was caught with 5.5km to go.
There was a sense of panic for Geraint Thomas, who suffered a front flat tyre inside the closing stages, but the Welshman was back with the peloton in no time as the sprinters’ teams massed at the front of the charging bunch.
With 1.1km remaining, Kooij was well positioned behind his teammates as Uno-X Mobility and Ineos Grenadiers competed for the lead, but the Dutch team surged just before the final two corners, allowing Kooij to launch his winning sprint and kick-start this year’s race.
Stage two sees the race remaining in Suffolk for a route through the Mid Suffolk and Babergh Districts, starting and finishing in Stowmarket. The 169.3-kilometre stage gets underway at 11:00 from Ipswich Street in Stowmarket, with live coverage on ITV4 and ITVX.
