Columbia-HTC’s Edvald Boasson Hagen has moved into the lead of the Eneco Tour with just two days racing remaining.

The Norwegian formed part of a break of 18 riders on the hilly 204.3 kilometre stage from Roermond to Sittard-Geleen in Holland. Second at the finish behind winner Lars Ytting Bak, the Columbia-HTC rider is now overall leader, 15 seconds ahead of American Tyler Farrar.

“We had Michael Rogers, Maxime Monfort and Edvald in the break and workiing hard and that great team effort  was what got Edvald into the lead,” commented Columbia-HTC sports director Tristan Hoffman.

“Tony Martin was also close to making it into the group but then he punctured just when it was going away. If not we’d have had four guys there. Even so, having the break away for so long and such a hard chase behind made for very dramatic racing, and now we’ve got Edvald in the lead.

“Tomorrow [Monday] should be a bunch sprint, so the last day’s time trial should be decisive.It’s quite short and totally flat so it suits Edvald, but it’s also a good distance for Tyler Farrar and the riders are all very close.” “This race is going to go down to the wire, but we’re in a good position.

"My team-mates did a brilliant job today and they helped me get in the lead,” Boasson Hagen said. “Now I’ve got a pretty good chance of winning, but I’ll have to see how much energy I used up today. I came close to victory last year but lost it when I got dropped in the crosswinds and this year I want to get it right.”