Vos claims Tour of Britain with final stage win
LONDON 2012 Olympic champion Marianne Vos secured cycling’s inaugural Tour of Britain in style yesterday, winning a sprint finish to claim the race’s final stage.
Vos pipped Italy’s Giorgia Bronzini and Dutch compatriot Amy Pieters to the line in Bury St Edmunds, and hailed the roadside support that helped her to victory.
Hannah Barnes came fourth in the final stage yesterday, eighth in the overall rankings and one place behind fellow Briton Lucy Garner.
Double Olympic track champion Laura Trott ended the Tour in 55th place, while Lizzie Armitstead – who came second to Vos in the 2012 Olympics road race – withdrew from the final stage due to illness.
“I have good memories of Great Britain with the Olympics, but these crowds really made a difference,” Vos said.
“I have won many titles before, and some gold medals, but this women’s Tour is really special because it means so much to women’s cycling. The pressure was really on but the team did such a great job to keep me in the race.”