Samu shows intent on final stage in Britain

Samuel Sánchez sought to prove his fitness ahead of next Sunday's road race Worlds by going on the attack constantly on today's eighth and final Tour of Britain stage.

The 34-year-old, wearing a red bib number due to him being awarded the 'Most aggressive rider'-prize yesterday (pictured above), got into the break of the day and was a constant live wire as he put the finishing touches to his Worlds' tune-up. There was to be no stage win for the Euskaltel captain despite several tries at going clear, but the Asturian has no doubt showed enough over the course of the week to warrant his inclusion in Spain's nine-man squad. Whether he's in the necessary shape for being awarded a leader's role remains to be seen, but with another seven days to go he might just get there in time.

Pablo Urtasun also tried his luck in the closing stages, but yesterday's victor couldn't sustain his small gap and was easily reeled in by the pack. Talking about the 32-year-old, if you didn't get the chance to watch it live, check out the video below:



As for the GC, Samu ended up as the team's best rider in 14th, closely followed by a resurgent Pierre Cazaux in 15th.

Results stage 8:

• (1, Mark Cavendish (Sky), 3:33:05)
• 16, Adrián Sáez, 0:03
• 24, Ricardo García, s.t.
• 27, Pierre Cazaux, s.t.
• 47, Samuel Sánchez, 0:12
• 48, Pablo Urtasun, s.t.

Final general classification:

• (1, Jonathan Tiernan-Locke (Endura Racing), 33:11:22)
• 14, Samuel Sánchez, 6:02
• 15, Pierre Cazaux, 6:15
• 38, Adrián Sáez, 21:03
• 44, Ricardo García, 26:14
• 46, Pablo Urtasun, 27:50

Photo: Rob Lampard