tour of britain 2023 stage 8 results

Wout van Aert secures overall title at Tour of Britain

Carlos Rodríguez holds off chase to take solo stage 8 win in Caerphilly

How it unfolded

Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) secured overall victory at the Tour of Britain with a calculated and hugely impressive ride on the final hilly stage in south Wales.

The Belgian was attacked and isolated but kept his cool, chased hard, controlled his closest rivals and did enough to win the red, white and blue jersey.

Spain’s Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) stayed away to win the stage after making a 50km attack, but he started the day 39 seconds down on Van Aert.

Van Aert led home the chasers and finished just 11 seconds behind him to win the Tour of Britain by just three seconds ahead of Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X), with Damien Howson (Q36.5) finishing third on the stage and overall, also at three seconds.

The USA’s Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers) was fourth overall, also at three seconds and stage placings.

“I have to thank the team for this win,” Van Aert said. “When Rodriguez attacked with 50km to go, I didn’t think I could win the GC, but then my teammates came back up to me and made all the difference.

“We knew the guys away were climbers, and they would suffer on the flat roads to the finish, then I had to believe that I could give it everything twice on the climb. I did, and it worked out.”

After a week of sprint finishes, the Tour of Britain headed to south Wales for the final stage and hilly showdown in the valleys near Caerphilly.

The two climbs of Caerphilly Mountain came late in the stage, but the attacks came early in the valleys, with Oliver Wood (Great Britain), Max Walker (Trinity Racing), Casper Van Uden (Team DSM-firmenich), Abram Stockman (TDT-Unibet), James Fouche (Bolton Equities Black Spoke) and Johan Meens (Bingoal WB).

They opened a gap of 1:30 in the rain, with Jumbo-Visma and then Movistar leading the chase on the flat opening 70km.

A major non-race vehicle incident before the first classified climb meant the race was stopped after 83 km and then diverted via a different route. The riders covered a longer loop in the next valley with a police escort before they returned to the stage route.

After a short pause, the six-rider breakaway was allowed to rebuild their three-minute advantage. However, the delay disrupted the attack and fired up the peloton, with the gap falling quickly to 1:20 on the Rhigos climb as the valley roads began to hurt.

With 55km to go, local resident Luke Rowe upped the pace, and Ineos Grenadiers lined out the peloton as they rode at speed between parked cars. The finale of the race started early.

When the steep Bryn Du climb began, Max Walker was the first to attack, splitting the breakaway. However, the peloton came up quickly as the GC battle exploded. Van Aert was there but was alone, and so Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) and Stevie Williams (Great Britain) attacked together over the top of the climb.

They had a gap of 20 seconds as Van Aert was forced to wait for other riders and precious teammates.

Rodriguez and Williams were initially uncertain if they should ride together. The Spaniard started the stage 36 seconds down on the Welshman and would have to distance him massively to win the overall classification of the Tour of Britain. Their tactics didn’t tally as Williams appeared to struggle on the climb, but they pressed on.

The two extended their lead to over a minute on the road towards Caerphilly, but the peloton never gave up the chase as the strongest and GC contenders finally emerged. Jumbo-Visma and then Q36.5 did a lot of the chasing.

As the riders passed through the finish before the two climbs of Caerphilly Mountain, Rodriguez and Williams led by just 15 seconds.

Caerphilly Mountain is only 1.7km long but climbs at 8.5%. That and the earlier effort cracked Williams, and he was dropped, but Rodriguez pushed on in pursuit of at least a stage victory. Behind, Magnus Sheffield sat on Van Aert’s wheel in defence of his teammate's attack, but the Belgian seemed determined to give his all to defend his overall race lead.

Rodriguez heard the bell ring out with seven kilometres to go, his lead at only 20 seconds. His chances of overall victory were fading, but he could perhaps still win the stage, and so he fought on, reminding everyone of the determination and talent he showed when he won stage 14 at the Tour de France to Morzine in the Alps.

Van Aert chased on the front, aware that he had a 39-second advantage on Rodriguez but that other riders could attack him.

He carefully paced his effort on the climb, going deep to dissuade attacks, and then other riders helped with the chase of Rodriguez as the battle for the podium places began.

Rodriguez stayed clear to win the stage, but the chasers were just behind him, with Van Aert winning the sprint for second to seal a calculated but well-deserved overall victory.

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2023 Tour of Britain, stage 8: report and results

Carlos Rodriguez won stage 8 of the Tour of Britain as Wout van Aert sealed the overall win, 10 September 2023

Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) won the final stage of the Tour of Britain in brilliant solo fashion having launched a long-range attack in the Welsh hills. Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) sealed the overall win after sprinting to second place from a select group of four just 11 seconds back.

Featured image: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com

Wout van Aert withstood multiple attacks on the final and decisive stage to win year’s Tour of Britain as Ineos Grenadiers’ Spanish climber Carlos Rodriguez took the hilly stage into Caerphilly.

Van Aert’s victory makes him only the third rider to win the race twice, capping off an excellent week for his Jumbo-Visma team, the Dutch squad also winning five stages and the Points Classification with Olav Kooij.

“It feels great,”  said the Belgian, who also won the GC in 2021.  “We’ve had such an amazing week as a team, starting off with five stage wins in a row, which is pretty incredible. From then on there was a lot of pressure on us in this race, but we managed to control every stage basically. So I’m super proud, especially to finish off that teamwork.”

The race was set for a showdown in the mountains of South Wales, the 166km route from Margam Country Park to Caerphilly taking in four Category One climbs, including a double ascent of Caerphilly Mountain in the finale.

A breakaway of six riders went clear 10km into proceedings, the familiar sight of Pinarello King of the Mountains leader James Fouché (Bolton Equities-Black Spoke) among them, the Kiwi sealing the classification by reaching the summit of the Rhigos climb first. He was again joined by Abram Stockman (TDT – Unibet Cycling Team) as well as Ollie Wood (Great Britain), sprinter Casper van Uden (Team dsm – firmenrich) who was second into Newark, Max Walker (TRINITY Racing), and Johan Meens (Bingoal WB).

With the break caught ahead of the second climb of the day up Bryn Du, Ineos-Grenadiers rolled back the years and signalled their intentions by decimating the peloton and setting an infernal pace on the opening slopes, race leader Van Aert momentarily isolated from his Jumbo-Visma team. With Ineos-Grenadiers leader Tom Pidcock out of the race with a saddle sore infection, it was over to Carlos Rodriguez, the prodigiously talented Spaniard fresh off the back of 5th place in this year’s Tour de France, who attacked halfway up the climb, with the in-form Stevie Williams (Great Britain), recent winner of the Arctic Race of Norway joining him.

As the gap went out to 1′ 25”, Movistar and what remained of Jumbo-Visma set to work chasing the pair at the front of a diminished peloton, the duo’s advantage cut to only ten seconds by the first passage of Caerphilly Mountain.

It was here that the double-digit gradients ended Stevie Williams’ hopes of overall glory, the Welshman distanced by Rodriguez on his home roads; the former Spanish champion still in with a chance of overall victory, starting the day 39 seconds adrift of Van Aert.

Rodriguez remained out front as he hit the Mountain for the second time, with little more than 5km remaining. Multiple attacks came from the select group behind, including a powerful effort from Van Aert in pursuit of the stage victory. However, they were unable to catch Rodriguez, who soloed to a memorable win, 11 seconds ahead of Van Aert, who led home a group of four riders, with Damien Howson (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) third on the stage, Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Pro Cycling) fourth and Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers) fifth. Rodriguez’s efforts may have not been enough for the overall win, but his teammate Sheffield did win the young rider’s classification.

Rodriguez told reporters after the stage: “The plan was to go on the climb with 50 kilometres to go and force the other teams to chase. We had Magnus [Sheffield] in a good position so that he just had to follow the wheels and eventually I could get the victory. Losing Tom [Pidcock] was a big setback for us but we had to keep trying and keep believing. We had a good team and we had to try to win the GC or the stage.”

In finishing second on the stage, Van Aert held onto his three-second advantage from the previous stage ahead of Tobias Johannessen, the Norwegian climber moving up to 2nd on GC, with Danien Howson, the Australian, finishing 3rd overall on the same time. The best-placed Brit was Cumbrian Mark Donovan (Q36.5), in 5th, followed by Saint Piran’s Zeb Kyffin in 6th, both riders 23 seconds adrift of van Aert.

• Max Walker (TRINITY Racing) made it into the break on the back of a quiet race for his team, their focus on supporting Soudal-Quickstep bound sprinter Luke Lamperti. He was joined by National Circuit Race Champion Ollie Wood (Great Britain), riding for the national team. Still without a trade team, Wood has had a solid race in support of Ethan Vernon, the sprinter coming close to a stage win on multiple occasions.
• Stevie Williams was waiting for today’s stage, starting the day on 8th place, only three seconds behind Wout Van Aert. The Welsh climber left nothing on the road in his pursuit of victory, forming an excellent partnership with stage winner Carlos Rodriguez after attacking on the second climb of the day. Williams has been in excellent form since his medal at the National Road Race Championship in June and his audacious ride today caps off an excellent race for the Great Britain team, the young squad riding brilliantly in support of Williams and Vernon all week.
• Zeb Kyffin’s (Saint Piran) performance is one of the biggest stories of the week, the leader of the National Road Series demonstrating his class in Britain’s biggest race with 6th overall. Kyffin attacked on the first stage, running the sprinters close in Manchester and hasn’t looked back, mixing it with some of the best riders in the world on today’s brutal stage. A move up the ladder from Continental level would be thoroughly deserved following his outstanding season, something a number of Saint Piran riders will have on their minds following an excellent race for the Cornish team.
• Mark Donovan (Q36.5) is one of the most underrated riders in the peloton, underlining that by finishing the race as top Brit in 5th place. the Pro Team rider mixed it with the best over the hilly weekend stages, finishing today’s stage in 8th place, only 31 seconds down on Rodriguez.

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Tour of Britain

•   »  
• La Vuelta Ciclista a España
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• KM to go togo 0
• Racetime 3:52:43
• KM done km 166.8
• Avg. speed Avg. 43.0
• Start 10/09 11:25
• Start (CET) 10/09 12:25
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• 0 .. Follow the LiveStats of Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal here .
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• 0 31 .. VAN AERT Wout (Jumbo-Visma) now has 31 second places.
• 0 .. Third place for HOWSON Damien (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team).
• 0 .. VAN AERT Wout (Jumbo-Visma) comes in second place.
• 0 .. RODRÍGUEZ Carlos (INEOS Grenadiers) wins!
• 1 .. Final kilometre!
• 3.2 .. 21% of PCS game players picked RODRÍGUEZ Carlos (INEOS Grenadiers) in their team for today. 21%
• 5.3 .. The last top-10 result for RODRÍGUEZ Carlos (INEOS Grenadiers) was 49 days ago in Tour de France .
• 5.8 .. group 1 is now on climb Caerphilly Mountain (1.7km à 8.5%)
• 5.9 .. SERRANO Gonzalo (Movistar Team) is dropped from peloton
• 6.3 .. PARRA José Félix (Equipo Kern Pharma) caught by peloton
• 6.7 .. Attack by PARRA José Félix (Equipo Kern Pharma) in peloton
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Tour of Britain 2023

8 stages • 03-09-2023 -> 10-09-2023.

Van Aert, Wout

Fouché, james, kooij, olav, q36.5 pro cycling team.

Altrincham (GBR) -> Manchester (GBR)

03-09-2023 • 163.6 kms

Wrexham (GBR) -> Wrexham (GBR)

04-09-2023 • 109.9 kms

Goole (GBR) -> Beverley (GBR)

05-09-2023 • 154.7 kms

Sherwood Forest (GBR) -> Newark-on-Trent (GBR)

06-09-2023 • 166.6 kms

Felixstowe (GBR) -> Felixstowe (GBR)

07-09-2023 • 192.4 kms

Southend-on-Sea (GBR) -> Harlow (GBR)

08-09-2023 • 146.2 kms

Tewkesbury (GBR) -> Gloucester (GBR)

09-09-2023 • 170.9 kms

Margam Country Park (GBR) -> Caerphilly (GBR)

10-09-2023 • 166.8 kms

Movistar Team

Dsm-firmenich, jumbo - visma, ineos grenadiers, bora - hansgrohe, flanders - baloise, great britain, uno-x pro cycling team, kern pharma, global 6 cycling, saint piran, trinity racing, bolton equities black spoke pro cycling, tdt - unibet cycling team, when it began to dispute this race.

The first time was in the year 1945 and this edition is number 19

How many kilometers are covered? And stages?

1271 kms are covered in a total of 8 stage/s

What day begins? How long does it last?

It starts on 03-09-2023 in Altrincham and ends on 10-09-2023 in Caerphilly

How many teams and cyclists participate?

A total of 96 cyclists and 16 teams . Click on this link to see more

What UCI category does this race have?

UCI Pro Series (Various stages) 2.Pro

What company or organizer manages it?

Information, related races.

Tour of Britain 2021

GBR • 05-09-2021 -> 12-09-2021

Tour of Britain 2022

GBR • 04-09-2022 -> 11-09-2022

Image license: Image by tourofbritain.co.uk

Tour of Britain 2023 Route stage 8: Margam Country Park - Caerphilly

The first half of the race is virtually flat, so that makes the second even more trying, as virtually all elevation gain is crammed inside 85 kilometres. The first ascent is the non-classified Blwch Mountain – 3.4 kilometres at 6.4% – before the riders further penetrate Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, which was until recently known by its English name Brecon Beacons.

The first KOM climbs of the day are Rhigos and Bryn Du, respectively 5.8 kilometres at 5.1% and 3.1 kilometres at 8.4%. Two more none-KOM climbs (2.8 kilometres at 6.8% and 600 metres at 10.2%) precede some 20 kilometres on the flat before the first passage on the line takes place with 15 kilometres to go.

The finishing circuit revolves around Caerphilly Mountain. The climb totals 1.7 kilometres and the average gradients sits at 8.3%, while most vertical meters are bridged in the last kilometre. This section goes up at 12%.

As said, the wall-like ascent is tackled twice before the Tour of Britain ends with a flying descent into Caerphilly.

Ride the route yourself? Download GPX stage 8 .

Another interesting read: results 8th stage + final GC 2023 Tour of Britain.

Tour of Britain 2023 – stage 8: route, profile, more

Click on the images to zoom

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Margam Country Park - Caerphilly Riders & Results

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