As expected, Dutchman Lars Boom of the Rabobank team won the 2011 Tour of Britain overall. Boom was the class act of the race, winning two stages and placing second on Sunday morning's time trial.
Steve Cummings of Sky Procycling finished a surprise second overall behind Boom after a strong time trial performance, with Czech NetApp rider Jan Barta in third.
"It was awesome," a delighted Boom said after pulling on the gold jersey for the final time. He went on to praise the hosts: "London is a very nice city. It’s a lovely country, I didn't expect that. The public was awesome, a lot of cheering so it was a great week for us.
"My most memorable moment was the first stage, the circuit, the small roads, the rain – it was awesome."
Also as expected, HTC-Highroad sprint star Mark Cavendish powered to his second stage win of the tour on the streets of London, passing lead-out man Mark Renshaw to claim the win. It remains to be seen if Cav and Renshaw will stay together after the imminent break-up of the HTC team.
"I didn’t want to take too many risks today with the Worlds coming up," said Cavendish. "It was a wet finish and I saw (Ben) Swift lose his wheel on the second last corner so I backed off on the last corner and ended up 20 metres behind coming out the last corner. I thought it was too far back to get it but I went for it anyway and I came through on the line.
"It’s been really good to come away with three stage wins this week, can’t get much better. Not only that we go three first and second placings which is superb.
"Since 2007 and this year, to see how much The Tour has grown is amazing. It’s great to see all the support."
Earlier in the day, Alex Dowsett of Sky Procycling rode a terrific time trial to win Stage 8a.
"Everything just clicked," the British rider said. "I recceed the course twice and even when I got up this morning I knew that my legs weren’t going to feel as bad as they had done the last few days. It’s been a hard tour for all of us, always trying to put Lars Boom on the back foot so we’ve been attacking all the time and it takes it out of you.
"It’s amazing; it’s one of those things I would hopefully tell my children in years to come. It’s going to take a while to sink in. London has been pretty kind to me, it’s amazing."
Stage 8a, TfL London Stage Individual Time Trial
Stage Result
1 Alex Dowsett (GB, Sky Procycling) 10:14:73
2 Lars Boom (Ned, Rabobank) @ 0:05
3 Lieuwe Westra (Ned, Vacansoleil DCM) same time
4 Steve Cummings (GB, Sky Procycling) @ 0:09
5 Geraint Thomas (GB, Sky Procycling) @ 0:16
6 Alex Wetterall (Swe, Endura Racing) @ 0:19
7 Michael Rogers (Aus, Sky Procycling) same time
8 Thor Hushovd (Nor, Garmin Cervelo) @ 0:23
9 Damien Guadin (Fra, Europcar) @ 0:25
10 Joost Posthuma (Ned, Leopard Trek) @ 0:26
Overall General Classification, after Stage 8a
1 Lars Boom (Ned, Rabobank) 24:58:17
2 Stephen Cummings (GB, Sky ProCycling) @ 0:36
3 Jan Barta (Cze, Team NetApp) @ 0:56
4 Linus Gerdemann (Ger, Leopard Trek) @ 0:57
5 Leopold Koenig (Cze, Team NetApp) @ 1:01
6 Jonathan Tiernan Locke (GB, Rapha Condor Sharp) @ 1:03
7 Jelle Wallays (Bel, Topsport Vlaanderen) @ 1:12
8 Iker Camano (Spa, Endura Racing) same time
9 Joost Posthuma (Ned, Leopard Trek) @ 1:13
10 Daniel Lloyd (GB, Team Garmin - Cervelo) @ 1:25
The Prostate Cancer Charity Points Classification, after Stage 8a
1 Lars Boom (Ned, Rabobank) 66pts
2 Geraint Thomas (GB, Sky ProCycling) 58pts
3 Mark Cavendish (GB, HTC Highroad) 52pts
4 Stephen Cummings (GB, Sky ProCycling) 35pts
5 Stijn Neirynck (Bel, Topsport Vlaanderen) 30pts
Skoda King of the Mountains Classification, after Stage 8a
1 Jonathan Tiernan Locke (GB, Rapha Condor Sharp) 71pts
2 Russell Hampton (GB, Sigma Sport Specialized) 48pts
3 Steve Cummings (GB, Sky ProCycling) 30pts
4 Linus Gerdemann (Ger, Leopard Trek) 28pts
5 Jack Bauer (NZ, Endura Racing) 20pts
Yodel Sprints Classification, after Stage 8a
1 Pieter Ghyllebert (Bel, AN Post - Sean Kelly 36pts
2 Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu, AN Post - Sean Kelly) 15pts
3 Russell Hampton (GB, Sigma Sport - Specialized) 13pts
4 Lars Boom (Ned, Rabobank) 11pts
5 Mark McNally (GB, AN Post - Sean Kelly) 10pts
6 Andrew Fenn (GB, AN Post - Sean Kelly) 10pts
UNISON Best Young Rider, after Stage 8a
1 Jelle Wallays (Bel, Topsport Vlaanderen) 24:59:29
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