Wout Van Aert wins opening stage of Tour of Britain

A five-man breakaway was caught 25 kilometres from the end of the Cornish stage.

Team Jumbo-Visma’s Wout Van Aert celebrates victory on the first stage of the Tour of Britain (Ben Birchall/PA) (PA Wire)

Belgian Wout Van Aert won the opening stage of the Tour of Britain in an uphill sprint in Bodmin.

The 180-kilometre stage, which began in Penzance took the riders around Cornwall and it was Jumbo-Visma rider Van Aert who had the strongest finish.

Julian Alaphilippe launched an expected attack with just over 500 metres to go but Van Aert overhauled him to win by a bike length from Dutchman Nils Eekhoff.

The peloton makes its way through Camborne (Ben Birchall/PA) (PA Wire)

Movistar’s Gonzalo Serrano and Ethan Hayter of Ineos Grenadiers finished on the same time, with Alaphilippe losing two seconds.

A five-man breakaway comprising Joey Rosskopf, Oliver Stockwell, Max Walker, Jacob Scott and Nic Dlamini dominated the majority of the stage, withBritish rider Scott taking the honours in both the sprint and mountain points competitions.

Jacob Scott celebrates his lead in the King of the Mountains competition (Ben Birchall/PA) (PA Wire)

Rosskopf and Dlamini dropped away to leave a leading trio before they were also caught 25km from the finish line.

Monday’s stage sees the riders move into Devon for a 184km stint from Sherford to Exeter.