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London - Up-and-coming British rider Simon Yates won the Tour of Britain's first 'mountain' stage as he crossed the line in front on Haytor Rocks in Dartmoor, southwest England, on Friday.
Yates burst clear in the closing stages of a 137-kilometre sixth stage to win from Sky Pro Cycling's David Lopez with Martin Elmiger of IAM finishing third.
But race leader Bradley Wiggins, the 2012 Olympic and Tour de France champion, was just seven seconds behind Yates as he maintained his place at the top of the overall standings.
The 21-year-old Yates's stage victory took him to third place overall in the general classification, one minute and six seconds behind Wiggins, with Elmiger 32 seconds adrift in second position.
"It's one of my best victories," Yates said on www.cyclingnews.com. "To win a stage of your nation tour in that company, you can't get much better.
"I know I have a good kick but I didn't really believe until we got closer to the line."
Nevertheless, Wiggins remains in charge ahead of this weekend's last two stages which culminate with Sunday's finale in London and his form suggests he will be a strong contender at the Road World Championships time-trial in Italy next week.
Leading results from the sixth stage of the Tour of Britain, a 137km ride from Sidmouth to Haytor on Friday:
Stage
1. Simon Yates (GBR) Great Britain 3hrs 23mins 44secs, 2. Martin Elmiger (SUI) IAM Cycling at 2 secs, 3. David Lopez Garcia (ESP) Sky Procycling at same time, 4. Sergio Pardilla Bellon (ESP) MTN-Qhubeka at 5 secs, 5. Sebastien Reichenbach (SUI) IAM Cycling s.t., 6 Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (COL) Movistar Team at 7, 7. Bradley Wiggins (GBR) Sky Procycling s.t., 8. Francesco Manuel Bongiorno (ITA) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 12, 9. Marcel Wyss (SUI) IAM Cycling s.t., 10. Evaldas Siskevicius (LTH) Sojasun 31
Overall standings
1. Bradley Wiggins (GBR) Sky Procycling 24hrs 10mins 56secs, 2. Martin Elmiger (SUI) IAM Cycling at 32sec, 3. Simon Yates (GBR) Great Britain at 1min 06secs, 4. David Lopez Garcia (ESP) Sky Procycling at 1.08, 5. Sergio Pardilla Bellon (ESP) MTN-Qhubeka at 1.16, 6. Jack Bauer (NZL) Garmin-Sharp at 1.19, 7. Ian Stannard (GBR) Sky Procycling at 1.34, 8. Michal Golas (POL) Omega Pharma-Quick Step at 1.36, 9. Sebastien Reichenbach (SUI) IAM Cycling at 1.42, 10. Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (COL) Movistar Team at 1.56
Yates burst clear in the closing stages of a 137-kilometre sixth stage to win from Sky Pro Cycling's David Lopez with Martin Elmiger of IAM finishing third.
But race leader Bradley Wiggins, the 2012 Olympic and Tour de France champion, was just seven seconds behind Yates as he maintained his place at the top of the overall standings.
The 21-year-old Yates's stage victory took him to third place overall in the general classification, one minute and six seconds behind Wiggins, with Elmiger 32 seconds adrift in second position.
"It's one of my best victories," Yates said on www.cyclingnews.com. "To win a stage of your nation tour in that company, you can't get much better.
"I know I have a good kick but I didn't really believe until we got closer to the line."
Nevertheless, Wiggins remains in charge ahead of this weekend's last two stages which culminate with Sunday's finale in London and his form suggests he will be a strong contender at the Road World Championships time-trial in Italy next week.
Leading results from the sixth stage of the Tour of Britain, a 137km ride from Sidmouth to Haytor on Friday:
Stage
1. Simon Yates (GBR) Great Britain 3hrs 23mins 44secs, 2. Martin Elmiger (SUI) IAM Cycling at 2 secs, 3. David Lopez Garcia (ESP) Sky Procycling at same time, 4. Sergio Pardilla Bellon (ESP) MTN-Qhubeka at 5 secs, 5. Sebastien Reichenbach (SUI) IAM Cycling s.t., 6 Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (COL) Movistar Team at 7, 7. Bradley Wiggins (GBR) Sky Procycling s.t., 8. Francesco Manuel Bongiorno (ITA) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 12, 9. Marcel Wyss (SUI) IAM Cycling s.t., 10. Evaldas Siskevicius (LTH) Sojasun 31
Overall standings
1. Bradley Wiggins (GBR) Sky Procycling 24hrs 10mins 56secs, 2. Martin Elmiger (SUI) IAM Cycling at 32sec, 3. Simon Yates (GBR) Great Britain at 1min 06secs, 4. David Lopez Garcia (ESP) Sky Procycling at 1.08, 5. Sergio Pardilla Bellon (ESP) MTN-Qhubeka at 1.16, 6. Jack Bauer (NZL) Garmin-Sharp at 1.19, 7. Ian Stannard (GBR) Sky Procycling at 1.34, 8. Michal Golas (POL) Omega Pharma-Quick Step at 1.36, 9. Sebastien Reichenbach (SUI) IAM Cycling at 1.42, 10. Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (COL) Movistar Team at 1.56
