Team Sky had a second reason to celebrate today with Boasson Hagen following up Ian Stannard’s win in Austria with a stage victory in the Tour de France. Boasson Hagen, a former winner of the Tour of Britain, sprinted in ahead of Matt Goss and yellow jersey Thor Hushovd.
Geraint Thomas, who had led out his teammate Boasson Hagen, was the first of the Brits to cross the line in 16th place, in the same time as Boasson Hagen. David Millar was in 47th, Bradley Wiggins, 56th, Mark Cavendish 101st, and Ben Swift 106th. Both Swift and Cavendish lost a minute fourty four seconds.
Edvald Boasson Hagen, Team Sky Rider: “I felt really good today and I’m so pleased to win the sprint. Geraint Thomas did a great lead out and it’s just fantastic it’s all worked out. I was feeling strong and I knew from yesterday that I had the legs so the chance was there – I’m so glad we were able to take it.
“It’s hard to describe the emotions, I’m just so happy. To get my first stage at the Tour de France is so special. It means so much to the team as a whole because this is the biggest race in the world. It’s gone well for us so far and will hopefully continue to do so as we work for Bradley (Wiggins) in the general classification.”
Dave Brailsford, Team Sky Team Principal: “It’s a big day and a super-exciting moment for the whole team – the riders, the staff, our partners and all our fans. This first Grand Tour stage win is also a key moment in our development and our history. Who better to get it than Edvald who’s been such a great rider for this team. It’s onwards and upwards from here but I think we should take a moment to savour it now and really take on board what we’ve achieved. We’re still a young team and to accomplish this in such a short space of time is very exciting and we’ll look forward to building on that now.”
“We’ll have a glass of champagne to toast Edvald’s victory tonight but there will be no wild celebrations – we’ll save those until Paris. We just have to enjoy the moment now though because every member of this team has worked so hard to get us where we are today.â€
Sean Yates, Team Sky Sports Director: “It was a fantastic finish with Edvald taking the win. We’ve always known he is a great talent – he’s had a lot of bad luck over the last 18 months but today everything came together for him and the rest of the team.
“It’s fantastic, we’ve been there or thereabouts every day, and although it’s not the icing on the cake, it is the layer right underneath that! The icing on the cake is hopefully still to come but yes, this is a great win for the team.
“We’ve had good morale all Tour, even though we hadn’t won until today. We came close in the TTT and also close to the yellow jersey. Edvald also came close to the stage win yesterday but hit out too early, and he wasn’t going to make that same mistake again.
“It all came right today, the finish worked to Edvald’s advantage because that hill in the final kilometre got rid of the purer sprinters like Cav – who on a flat finish is virtually unbeatable. The way G and the rest of the team guided Edvald was top-notch and then the stage was made for him really. That was a great performance and a great day for the team.”
Previous Stages
STAGE 1 | STAGE 2 | STAGE 3 | STAGE 4 |Â Â STAGE 5 |
Result – Stage 5
Stage
1. Edvald Boasson Hagen. Sky Procycling         5:13:37
2. Mat Goss, HTC-Highroad
3. Thor Hushovd, Garmin-Cervelo
4. Romain Feillu, Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
5. Jose Joaquin Rojas, Movistar Team
6. Arthur Vichot, FDJ
7. Philippe Gilbert, Omega Pharma-Lotto
8. Gerald Ciolek, Quickstep Cycling Team
9. Marco Marcato, Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
10. Arnold Jeannesson, FDJ
16. Geraint Thomas, Sky
47. David Millar, Garmin
56. Bradley Wiggins, Sky
101. Mark Cavendish, HTC Highroad
106. Ben Swift, Sky
Overall
1. Thor Hushovd, Team Garmin-Cervelo    22:50:34
2. Cadel Evans, BMC Racing Team    0:00:01
3. Fränk Schleck, Leopard Trek    0:00:04
4. David Millar, Team Garmin-Cervelo    0:00:08
5. Andreas Klöden, Team RadioShack    0:00:10
6. Bradley Wiggins, Sky Procycling
7. Geraint Thomas, Sky Procycling    0:00:12
8. Edvald Boasson Hagen, Sky Procycling
9. Jakob Fuglsang, Leopard Trek
10. Andy Schleck, Leopard Trek
White Jersey
1. Geraint Thomas, Sky Procycling
2. Edvald Boasson Hagen, Sky Procycling
