Team Columbia-HTC sealed overall victory at the Tour of Britain on Saturday when the race ended in the centre of London.  It was the team's 82nd win of the 2009 season.

Edvald Boasson Hagen finished safely in the peloton at the end of the final 92km stage. He won overall by 23 seconds after taking four of the eight stages. Australia's Chris Sutton finished second and Germany's Martin Reimer was third. Italy's Michele Merlo won the final stage in a sprint.

"It's really good to win this race after all the hard work by the team. I'm really happy for me and for them," Boasson Hagen said. "This is my second stage race win this year. I didn't expect to win four stages and so it's been a fantastic week. It was amazing to win in the centre of London because there were huge crowds."

Team Columbia-HTC sent a powerful squad to the Tour of Britain that included Thomas Lovkvist, Tony Martin, Kim Kirchen, Gert Dockx and Maxime Monfort. They sacrificed their chances to help Boasson Hagen win.

"It's been a great race for us with the stage victories and overall success," directeur sportif Valerio Piva said.  "All the guys worked hard to defend the lead and they are tired, but we deserved to win the race. I think it's fair to say we were the strongest team in the race."  

The Team Columbia-HTC riders will now focus on next week's world championships.

STAGE 6

BOASSON HAGEN WINS FOURTH CONSECUTIVE STAGE IN BRITAIN

Team Columbia-HTC again dominated the racing at the Tour of Britain on Thursday, with Edvald Boasson Hagen winning his fourth consecutive stage in Bideford.  The longest stage in this year’s race headed into the hills of Somerset and Devon for 183km of hard racing. Five riders went on the attack early but Team Columbia-HTC kept them within reach and then pulled them back in the final kilometres of the stage.

Boasson Hagen hit the front with three hundred metres to go and nobody was able to pass him. Martin Reimer was second and Russell Downing was third.  The Columbia-HTC rider from Norway now leads Kai Reus of the Netherlands by 19 seconds.

“That was a strong group in front and it was hard to catch, but the team worked really, really hard,” Boasson Hagen said.  “Tommy (Lovkvist) did an amazing effort from 2km to 1km out.  In the last corner a Cervelo rider came through but it meant I had a nice lead out from him. Then I just went full gas to the line.  We have won four stages, I’m really satisfied with that, but I want to try for number five tomorrow.”

The stage is over 159km from Hatherleigh to Yeovil in the southwest of Britain.  Boasson Hagen could also win a sixth stage and seal the overall victory when the Tour of Britain ends in central London with a circuit race on Saturday.

STAGE 5

COLUMBIA-HTC TAKES LEAD AT TOUR OF BRITAIN

Team Columbia-HTC took control of the Tour of Britain on Wednesday with a strong team performance throughout the stage around Stoke on Trent before Edvald Boasson Hagen won the sprint.   It was his third consecutive sprint victory at the Tour of Britain and he also took the overall race lead.

"We deserved to win because the guys worked hard to control the race all day and then perfectly set up Edvald for the sprint," directeur sportif Valerio Piva said. "He won here last year and was fantastic this time, too. Maxime Monfort took him to 300 metres out and then he accelerated away. He made it look easy."

"We'll try and make sure Edvald wears the yellow jersey all the way to London," Piva said.  "There are still two tough stages before then, but we're the strongest team in the race and they know what to do."

Boasson Hagen wanted to share his success with his teammates. "It's a good win today because the team worked really hard for the whole stage. I like this finish and Maxime [Monfort] gave me a perfect lead out into the final corner," he said.  "We've got a strong team so I hope we can defend the lead."

Boasson Hagen's victory was Team Columbia-HTC 81st success of the 2009 season.
"We won 85 races last year and we never thought we'd be able to equal it. We're close now and so who knows, we could get there. It's something good to aim for," Piva said.

STAGE 4

BOASSON HAGEN WINS ANOTHER IN BRITAIN

Team Columbia-HTC dominated the sprint for a second consecutive day at the Tour of Britain on Tuesday, with Edvald Boasson Hagen winning the high-speed finish on the seafront in Blackpool.

The Columbia-HTC riders controlled the peloton in the final kilometres after Maxime Monfort was part of the key breakaway during the 151km stage.  A crash five hundred metres from the finish scattered the peloton but Boasson Hagen was ahead of it and got a perfect lead out from Tony Martin. It was his 11th win of the 2009 season and the 79th victory for Team Columbia-HTC.

"We decided to ride for Edvald again and lead him out in the sprint. It worked perfectly," directeur sportif Valerio Piva said.  "Maxime got across to the break in the middle, hilly section of the stage. That was important because it meant the other guys didn't have to chase and could safe their energy for the sprint. There was a crash in the finale but because we lead out the sprint, we avoided it."

Thanks to a ten-second time bonus for winning the stage, Boasson Hagen is now just one second behind Kai Reus of the Netherlands in the overall standings.  "We're close now and so we have to try and win overall," Piva said.  "Edvald is on form, we've got a strong team here, and so why not?.  We've done it before."

STAGE 3

COLUMBIA-HTC VICTORIOUS IN BRITAIN

Edvald Boasson Hagen gave Team Columbia-HTC its 78th victory of the 2010 season after another high-speed lead out from his teammates at the Tour of Britain. The yellow and white Team Columbia-HTC jerseys hit the front of the peloton in the final three kilometres of the stage from Peebles to Gretna Green in Southern Scotland. Tony Martin acted as final lead out man and Boasson Hagen accelerated to the line with no one able to match his finishing speed.
 
Team sport director Valeria Piva planned the tactics for the stage with the riders and they executed perfectly.  “It’s never easy to win races, but when you’ve got a team that does the lead out so well and then a rider as strong as Edvald, it does become easier,” Piva said.   “We saw that the finish was straight and so we decided to wait for the finish and then lead it out. The guys were always in control and gave Edvald a perfect lead out.”

Boasson Hagen won three stages at the 2008 Tour of Britain and is targeting more and even overall success this year.  

“It’s nice to win stages, and if I can do that again, then it’s also possible to take the yellow jersey because of the time bonuses,” Boasson Hagen said.

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