LEOPOLD KONIG OF Team NetApp has won the Tour of Britain’s stage six ahead of Jonathan Tiernan-Locke, who took the overall lead.
Tiernan-Locke (Endura Racing) took the leader’s gold jersey from Orica-GreenEDGE’s Leigh Howard, having attacked with 14 kilometres remaining on Friday’s stage.
As the peloton reached Caerphilly Mountain for the first time, Tiernan-Locke took off and was joined by Konig on the second ascent, the pair holding off the peloton through to the finish line.
Konig sat on Tiernan-Locke’s wheel in the closing stages as the 27-year-old Briton powered home in an effort to take the overall lead.
That meant Tiernan-Locke had little energy left for the final sprint of the 180.6km stage from Welshpool to Caerphilly, and Konig won comfortably.
Tiernan-Locke should be unfazed, however, as he has taken a 13-second lead in the general classification.
Howard remains in second position.
In the opening kilometres of stage six, a group of six riders broke away from the peloton to build up a maximum lead of eight minutes, with Orica-GreenEDGE and Endura Racing leading the chase.
The margin was less than a minute as the peloton reached the foot of Caerphilly Mountain and Tiernan-Locke overhauled Graham Briggs, the last remaining breakaway rider, just before the summit of the Welsh peak.
With two stages remaining in the 2012 Tour of Britain, Tiernan-Locke has a great opportunity to claim his fourth overall victory of the year after triumphs in Tour Alsace, Tour Mediterraneen and Tour du Haut Var.
