Blackpool, England, UK – The UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team’s Boy van Poppel (NED) continued his impressive run in the 2012 Tour of Britain earlier today, Wednesday, September 12, with his fourth consecutive top 10 finish of the race. In Stage 4 today, Van Poppel landed just off the podium finishing in 4thplace of the prestigious event that is drawing enormous crowds throughout the entire route, rain or shine. Great Britain’s Mark Cavendish won the stage, as the Team Sky rider topped Garmin-Sharp’s Steele Von Hoff (AUS), who took second, and Orica-GreenEDGE’s Leigh Howard (AUS) who finished in third place, just ahead of van Poppel.
 Photo by VeloUK.net/Tour Teamwork is the mantra for the boys in blue as van Poppel’s teammates continue to factor in heavily, keeping the young sprinter in contention for the overall. Today, Chris Jones (USA) rode in the front group of 21 riders alongside the overall points’ leader, helping him navigate through heavy crosswinds and massive puddles that could have passed for stream crossings along the route in North West England, a 156km journey from Carlisle to Blackpool. Through four stages van Poppel has managed to snare three top five finishes and four total top 10 performances, with his 2nd place (Stage 1), 3rd place (Stage 2), 7th place (Stage 3) and 4th place (Stage 4) finishes, an impressive showing at the halfway point in this year’s Tour of Britain. Van Poppel retains the Chain Reaction Cycles Points Leader’s Jersey and sits in 3rd place overall, 14 seconds behind Cavendish, who retains the IG Gold Jersey and remains atop the general classification.  Photo by VeloUK.net/Tour The Tour of Britain is now the UK’s biggest professional bike race and the country’s largest free-to-watch sporting event. Stage 5 of the Tour continues tomorrow, Thursday, September 13, with the ever-popular Stoke-on-Trent Stage, which celebrates five years on the Tour of Britain. TEAM UNITEDHEALTHCARE ROSTER FOR THE 2012 TOUR OF BRITAIN (September 9-16, 2012):
THE TOUR OF BRITAIN The 2012 Tour of Britain will take place Sunday, September 9 – 16, 2012. Stage 1: Sunday, September 9, Ipswich to Norfolk Showground Stage 2: Monday, September 10, Nottingham to Knowsley Stage 3: Tuesday, September 11, Jedburgh to Dumfries Stage 4: Wednesday, September 12, Carlisle to Blackpool Stage 5: Thursday, September 13, The Stoke-on-Trent Stage Stage 6: Friday, September 14, Welshpool to Caerphilly Stage 7: Saturday, September 15, Barnstaple to Dartmouth Stage 8: Sunday, September 16, Reigate to Guildford
Re-launched in 2004 after a five-year absence from the calendar, The Tour of Britain is now the UK’s biggest professional cycle race and the country’s largest free-to-watch sporting event. Ranked at the 2.1 level by the UCI, the sport’s governing body, The Tour of Britain attracts some of the world’s top cyclists, including Olympic and World Champions and Tour de France stage winners, to compete on British roads each September. The Tour of Britain is proud to be partnered with IG Markets, SKODA and Yodel. For details of The Tour of Britain, go to www.tourofbritain.co.uk |
