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France’s Paul Magnier made it three stage wins on this year’s Tour of Britain with victory on day five in Northampton.<\/b><\/p>\n
The Soudal Quick-Step rider won the opening stage in Kelso before triumphing in day four’s Derby to Newark ride.<\/p>\n
The 20-year-old sealed a hat-trick of stage wins on the 149.6km loop of Northampton when he timed his move to perfection against Ethan Vernon, who finished second in a sprint for the line.<\/p>\n
Uno-X Mobility rider Erlend Blikra finished third. <\/p>\n
“I enjoyed it a lot,” said Magnier.<\/p>\n
“It was really hard to catch the break – Remco [Evenepoel] did everything, he\u2019s a super-fast rider as you know. Julian [Alaphilippe] brought me every time to the front and I saved a lot of energy there, and in the end I did my best sprint for the victory.”<\/p>\n
Magnier’s victory means he can now equal the record of winning four individual stages in the same Tour of Britain when the event finishes on Sunday with a 158km ride between Lowestoft and Felixstowe. <\/p>\n
“Why not?” said Magnier.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll try, for sure. It\u2019s already super nice to take three victories, but for sure tomorrow we\u2019ll try to go again.”<\/p>\n
In the general classification standings, Britain’s Stevie Williams maintains a 16-second lead over Oscar Onley, while Mark Donovan is 40 seconds off the pace in third. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n