Ian Stannard says he used home advantage to take solo stage glory at Tour of Britain
The Sky man powered to victory in Tatton Park on stage three and says that his knowledge of the roads played into his hands
Ian Stannard admitted he played to his home advantage to take the solo victory on stage three of the Tour of Britain in Cheshire, as the stage covered roads where the Sky rider lives and trains.
The 29-year-old lives in Cheshire and admitted knowing the roads and climbs so well gave him the extra edge as well as the motivation to challenge for the win, his first in the Tour of Britain. Stannard was part of a four-man breakaway that went almost straight from the start, but attacked with 40-kilometres to go and rode alone to the finish.
“I was motivated to get in the break, I’ve been living on these roads since I was 18,” he said. “I didn’t expect the break to go quite so easily.”
Stannard was part of an all-British, four-man breakaway alongside Matt Cronshaw (Madison-Genesis), Kristian House (One Pro) and Graham Briggs (JLT-Condor). The riders amassed a gap up to seven minutes, as the peloton was reluctant to mount a chase.
“We [Sky] are going for stage wins and I think we knew there was a bit of a chance of the breakaway staying away today with the climbs and the sprinters not quite sure how hard they are,” Stannard said.
“I rode quite hard quite early to try and establish that gap because I knew Jack Bauer [Cannondale-Drapac] was behind [trying to bridge across]. He’s fairly close on GC still so I didn’t really want him in the group.”
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
The 182km stage featured three categorised climbs, with the last - the Cat and Fiddle – the most challenging of the three. Cronshaw was the first of the four to get dropped before Stannard attacked Briggs and House on the Cat and Fiddle climb.
“I kind of felt it a little bit when we got on the climbs,” Stannard continued. “I thought I’ll go early and keep hitting them to try and break them up a bit.
“I went away straight away, so I just committed. Obviously I know the descents quite well as well so I tried to take a good advantage of that and got a good gap.
“You know how hard the climbs are and how to judge your efforts a bit more, certainly the blind corners you know how fast you can take them and that’s a big advantage.”
The win was Stannard’s first victory since he won Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in February 2015 and is his first on what is his eighth start in his home tour. He attempted a solo breakaway at the race in 2008 on stage two from Milton Keynes to Newbury, but was caught with 15km to go.
“It’s nice, there was massive crowds out today and it was nice to do a really good ride,” he said.
The Sky rider will next race at the Eneco Tour before targeting a place in Great Britain’s squad for the Road World Championships in Qatar.
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
-
'I've never seen the cobbles as bad as this' - Inside one team's Paris-Roubaix recon
Tom Davidson joins British Continental team Lifeplus-Wahoo as they prepare for the most feared race of the season
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Tweets of the week: Marianne Vos is still boss, Lorena Wiebes raves, and Geraint Thomas issues a warning
While some riders hope to manage one win in their career, Marianne Vos has 250
By Tom Davidson Published
-
The art of peaking with Geraint Thomas: 'It’s easy to take for granted that 9 times out of 10 I hit my goals'
The Welshman also calls for better governance in the sport to help it grow further
By Chris Marshall-Bell Published
-
Ineos Grenadiers’ 500th victory was claimed by a woman; why do they still not have a team?
The British squad is one of the richest in cycling - but Ineos still won’t stump up for a women’s team
By Adam Becket Published
-
'This is so much more than a number': Six of the best Ineos Grenadiers wins as team claims 500th race victory
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot took the 500th team win at the weekend
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Tom Pidcock 'wouldn’t be surprised' to see attacks before the Poggio at Milan-San Remo
British rider will lead the line for Ineos Grenadiers alongside Filippo Ganna
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Ineos Grenadiers delighted with Egan Bernal’s late cameo on stage one of Paris-Nice
Colombian snapped up key bonus seconds in the general classification battle on run in to Les Mureaux
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
‘It doesn’t change anything’ - Tom Pidcock’s coach on Tadej Pogačar at Strade Bianche
Kurt Bogaerts says the pressure is off for Pidcock as he looks to defend the title he emphatically won last year
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Ineos Grenadiers say they will work with British Cycling to get Tour of Britain back on ‘as quickly as possible’
Ben Swift and Owain Doull both say it would be a "shame" were the Tour of Britain to be no more
By Adam Becket Published
-
‘We're now the hunter, not the hunted’ - New Ineos Grenadiers CEO commits to reclaiming top spot amongst WorldTour elite
John Allert outlines team’s targets and ambitions for 2024, including regaining Grand Tour dominance of old
By Tom Thewlis Published