Stephenson Comes of Age at Tour of Britain

Ringwood’s Will Stephenson came of age in the Tour of Britain, finishing in 45th place after eight tough stages. The eighteen year old was called up to race just four days before the start, after a teammate fell ill. Strong winds and heavy rain made the opening stages very hard but by the time the race had reached Devon Stephenson had found his feet, eventually finishing 4th in the U23 category. A former Canford school pupil and the youngest rider in the race, Will has deferred a place at Cambridge University studying natural sciences to ride full time. Stephenson started racing just three years ago with Bournemouth Arrow CC and was selected to ride for Great Britain at the junior world championships in Holland, 2012. Sir Bradley Wiggins (Sky Pro Cycling)) won the Tour of Britain, taking the lead after winning the time trial on stage 3. Mark Cavendish (Omega-Pharma-Quickstep) won the penultimate stage on the cobbled streets of Guildford, before winning the final stage in London.

Brief Result.
1 Sir Bradley Wiggins Sky Procycling 29h 45' 22''
2 Martin Elmiger IAM Cycling 29h 45' 48'' @0' 26''
3 Simon Yates** Great Britain 29h 46' 25'' 1' 3''
4 David Lopez Garcia Sky Procycling 29h 46' 30'' 1' 8''
5 Jack Bauer Garmin Sharp 29h 46' 35'' 1' 13''
6 Sergio Pardilla MTN Qhubeka 29h 46' 38'' 1' 16''
7 Ian Stannard Sky Procycling 29h 46' 56'' 1' 34''
8 Sebastien Reichenbach IAM Cycling 29h 47' 4'' 1' 42''
9 Michal Golas Omega Pharma Quick-Step 29h 47' 8'' 1' 46''
10 Marcel Wyss IAM Cycling 29h 47' 19'' 1' 57''
45 Will Stephenson Rapha Condor JLT 30h 3' 3'' 17' 41''

Youg Rider Classification
1 Simon Yates** Great Britain 29h 46' 25''
2 Alistair Slater** Great Britain 29h 56' 18'' @9' 53''
3 Thomas Moses** Team Raleigh 29h 59' 56'' 13' 31''
4 Will Stephenson** Rapha Condor JLT 30h 3' 3'' 16' 38''
5 Jacob Rathe** Garmin Sharp 30h 4' 1'' 17' 36''
6 Owain Doull** Great Britain 30h 6' 36'' 20' 11''
7 Alex Peters** Madison Genesis 30h 11' 53'' 25' 28''
8 Joshua Edmondson** Sky Procycling 30h 13' 31'' 27' 6''
9 Adam Yates** Great Britain 30h 18' 40'' 32' 15''
10 Jonathan Dibben** Great Britain 30h 19' 59'' 33' 34''
11 Jonathan Mould** Team UK Youth 30h 27' 39'' 41' 14''
12 George Atkins** Great Britain 30h 32' 22'' 45' 57''
13 Luke Grivell-Mellor** Rapha Condor JLT 30h 33' 19'' 46' 54''

Re-launched by SweetSpot Group in 2004 after a five year absence from the calendar, The Tour of Britain is now the UK's biggest professional cycle race and the country's largest free-to-watch sporting event.

Ranked at the 2.1 level by the UCI, the sport's governing body, The Tour of Britain attracts the world's top cyclists, including Olympic and World Champions and Tour de France stage winners, to compete on British roads each September.