Tim Wellens takes Tour of Britain lead with audacious attack

On the Queen stage of the Lloyds Tour of Britain, UAE Team Emirates-XRG delivered an outstanding display to launch Tim Wellens into the race lead. The Belgian claimed second place in Leyburn and now takes the green jersey into Sunday’s final stage.

Stage 4 of the 22nd Tour of Britain was always going to be the toughest day of racing, but the Emirati squad ensured it would be extra challenging by forcing the pace of the peloton all afternoon.

Thanks to his teammates’ efforts, Wellens was able to launch a devastating move with 42.8km of the stage remaining. The former Belgian national champion mopped up the remainder of the breakaway and eventually rode to the line alongside Cees Bol of Decathlon CMA CGM. Bol took the stage honours, as Wellens fought all the way to extend his advantage over the race leader, Lewis Askey (NSN Cycling Team).

Askey had taken a 12-second advantage over Wellens into Saturday’s stage, and had shown tremendous form in winning stage 1. However, Wellens’ display in the Yorkshire Dales was enough to topple Askey from the top of the standings, with the UAE Team Emirates-XRG man now heading into stage 5 with a 21-second buffer to the now-second-placed Askey.

Earlier on stage 4, a breakaway of half a dozen riders had headed up the road from the start town of Helmsley. As the afternoon drew on, their lead over the peloton hovered at the three-minute mark, as NSN Cycling Team looked to control affairs on behalf of Askey.

Though the script would be ripped up by UAE Team Emirates-XRG on the Greenhow Bank climb (3.3km at 7.9%). Here, Mikkel Bjerg rampaged to the front of the bunch and began setting a fearsome pace, in a bid to fatigue Askey and the other general classification contenders.

Over Greenhow and the subsequent Kidstones Pass (2.4km at 6.3%), Bjerg rode in tandem with Nils Politt and reduced the deficit to the breakaway to under a minute. Their efforts were relentless and the peloton was dwindling in size, just to Wellens’ liking. As the bunch was approaching the final categorised climb of the day, Redmire (3.5km at 8.2%), Bjerg and Politt handed the reins to their teammates.

It was on Redmire that the race truly exploded, with Felix Großschartner and Benoît Cosnefroy combining to deliver a lightning lead-out for their team leader. Over the top of Cosnefroy, Wellens produced his first acceleration with 42.8km to ride. The Belgian quickly roared past most of the breakaway baroudeurs, and it was only Bol of Decathlon CMA CGM who was able to stand the pace.

By the top of the climb, Wellens and Bol had half a minute over their closest rivals, and their advantage continued to grow as they entered the undulating roads between Redmire and Leyburn.

As the kilometres ticked by, a headwind roared into the faces of the leading duo, and the final 2km produced an intense battle between the front of the race and the chasers. But despite the best efforts of Askey and co, Wellens and Bol were not to be caught.

At the finish in Leyburn, Bol got the better of Wellens in the uphill sprint to the line, but Wellens could be equally as delighted. The Belgian finished 27 seconds ahead of Askey, and gained control of the green race leader’s jersey. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider will now head into the final stage with the full support of his teammates, as they look to win the Tour of Britain for the first time.

Wellens: “I said at the beginning of the stage that I felt super good. So I had confidence on the climb, but I didn’t know how good Askey was because it’s not easy to drop somebody. But the team went all out. When Felix and Benoît started pulling, we already had the gap and we just had to continue.

“I knew it was a tailwind at first, and then a headwind. The first tailwind went very fast but in the headwind I was suffering a lot. But in the end, I had enough advantage for the GC. But it is not over until it’s over, so tomorrow will also be an important day. It will just be the point of staying out of chaos, and being active in the front.

“We knew that every climb we had to go all out to put some lactate and fatigue in the legs. In the beginning, it was not really easy because it was a full headwind, but Mikkel did an incredible job with Nils of pulling super hard. In the end, I had the perfect lead-out.

“To be honest, I think I would have preferred to be alone [in the final], to get the stage victory. But maybe because of the small help I got from Cees, I got a few more seconds in the GC advantage, but I am happy he helped me.”

“It’s always nice to defend your lead than to take back seconds. I am feeling really good but tomorrow can be hectic. Halfway there are some climbs, and maybe some rain in the beginning. This is never nice but I hope the advantage should be enough to keep the jersey in the end.”

Tour of Britain 2026 stage 4 results:

1. Cees Bol (Decathlon CMA CGM) 4:00:39

2. Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +3″

3. Fabio Christen (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling) +21″

Tour of Britain 2026 general classification after stage 4:

1. Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 16:01:45

2. Lewis Askey (NSN Cycling Team) +21″

3. Matteo Trentin (Tudor Pro Cycling) +40″

10. Florian Vermeersch (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +3:15