As Marc De Maar produced a stunning display to win the fifth stage, Mark Cavendish had to surrender the overall lead of the Tour of Britain, according to the BBC.
Cavendish was 12 minutes behind as De Maar finished the 149-kilometre stage, claiming his first win in Britain. Australia’s Howard Leigh held the race leader’s gold jersey after finishing in the bunch 15 seconds behind De Maar.
Cavendish’s teammate Bradley Wiggins gave chase, but then dropped back and waited to support his team leader. Team Sky’s sports director Servais Knaven said, “At that moment [when Wiggins dropped back] it was the point of no return. Brad was in between the two groups waiting for Cav and the gap looked shorter than it was. Brad wanted to help us defend the jersey today.”
Published in The Express Tribune, September 15th, 2012.
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