Surrey Classic Part 2 Cycling

Hello and welcome to our final show from this year's RideLondon. The

amateur riders have been out on the road since five o'clock this

morning. Still they are finishing on the Mall. Now it is the big one, the

London-Surrey Classic. The first time a World Tour one-day race has

been staged on British roads. This showpiece event has new state is

this year, joining the big one-day races on the continent. We will see

the final of the Classic on the Mall in just over 2.5 hours, but in the

meantime, thousands of the sportive riders are coming in after

completing the 46 and the 100 mile rides. Millions being raised and

many memories being made. It has been quite an event in London, all

in celebration of the humble bicycle.

Yes, some fantastic sites around London over the course of

RideLondon. We are looking forward to the Classic. I am joined by Chris

Boardman and Mark Cavendish. Good to have you with us. Mark, you're

recovering from the crash in the Tour de France. How are you feeling?

I am OK. I have just hit myself in the mouth with the microphone. I am

worse now. I am ageing to be on my bike again. That is it. I cannot sit

still. I am not in any pain any more, so I am looking forward to it.

We will see you back out there soon. Chris, we have been spectators here

this weekend but it has been something to behold? I have been

spectators you'd every time and it is much better on this side of the

barrier when you can have a beer afterwards. 100,000 people taking

part this weekend in the areas forms, children all the way through

to the best athletes in the world. It is fantastic, not just a

celebration of the bicycle, but an opportunity for people to ride

around the streets with no cars and see what that is like.

It is an important event in so many ways. The Classic is under way. The

professional peloton are out on the roads. Now that it has World Tour

state is, how significant is that? It is the Premier League of cycling.

It is the top any goal. You have to be invited to ride. It creates

points for the end of the season. It is a massive step up in just a young

event to be there. It is great we have a World Tour event in the UK.

Of course, the prototype for this race was the test event for the

Olympic road race in 2011, which you on not only Mall. What are your

memories? We had a great team. We had a GB team and then England team.

We had two. I had just won the green jersey of the Tour de France. I was

on a high. With 2012 coming it was important we stamped their authority

on that. We did it too much because we were marked out of the race in

the following year. It is great to finish on probably the most iconic

Avenue in the whole world, on the Mall, in front of Buckingham Palace.

It is a special feeling. You on the green jersey and the world

championship in 2011. That green jersey was a special memory. It is

fantastic to see this year's green jersey winner in action in the

Classic in the shape of Australia's Michael Matthews. I have mixed

memories of the Tour de France. The first week did not go according to

plan. We had a few heartbreaking moments at that point. But the

second week onwards, it got better and better. The most special moment

was probably the first stage that I won in the Tour de France this year.

I did the same stage two years ago in the Tour de France, I tried to

attempt it when I had four broken ribs. To win this year in the style

that I did, that was the breaking point. Everything started to go

really well from there. The hard work we put in, finally the Tour de

France give me good luck. The imagination of winning the jersey,

the goal I had set, it was something I thought would take more years to

succeed in that goal. But I guess going into the Tour de France with

the form that I had, and the full support of the team, it was when

you're that I had to really go for it 100%. I will try to stay focused

this week with training, try to do everything right. I will not go too

crazy. Actually, I skipped a lot of the criterium races to try and get

good form for the race this Sunday. I also tried to switch off. I got my

motorbike licence this week. I can do something away from cycling but

still have the main focus is on the weekend. I will have a break before

my next race after this weekend. One more week of focus and I can chill.

It was a complicated race last year when a big breakaway went. I had a

few team-mates there. In the end, we brought it back for the sprint. My

legs were not quite as good as I would have liked after the Tour de

France last year. Hopefully they are better this year. Now it is the

World Tour, I think it will be more controlled. Maybe Sky will try to

control it for the sprint. With it being the first time as World Tour,

no one is going to really know what is going to happen. Hopefully it

will be an exciting race. I think it is still quite a short race, only

180 K. Hopefully we will get good weather. That will be the nicest

thing. The courses really nice. I like the small roads and the little

climbs. It is a nice style of racing. Hopefully I can get a good

result. One to watch today, Michael Matthews, the green jersey in the

Tour de France. It was a fantastic year for Sunweb. He was very

tenacious and he managed to stake through the mountains and kept

gathering the points. We had injuries that took out lots of the

competition and he was ready for it. His team

were superb for him, the roads so hard all day, they did not do the

lead out at the end, they spent all their energy setting him up. He

delivers superbly on two occasions. He is a nice guy, a popular guy. He

is one of the favourites. You will know better than anybody how hard it

is to keep the form, whether you can take form from the Tour de France

into an event like this. That is key, carrying through the form. I

normally finish on my hands and knees at the Tour de France. It is

21 individual base but what you do on the first day has an effect on

how you are on the 21st day. If you feel good it is easy to push it a

little bit and that can affect you for weeks. It is arguably the

hardest endurance event on the planet. It can finish people for the

whole season. He is quite resilient, Michael, he can climb like a

climber. Will not be struggling at the back of the race. Compared to

what he has done in the last three weeks, these climbs will not be a

problem. If he can keep the top end speed at the finish, there are pure

sprinters year, Elia Viviani, Andre Greipel, but he has done the Tour de

France as well. Elia Viviani will be fresher, perhaps he will have the

speed at the end. Let's look at some of the others to look out for. For

me, it would normally be Andrei Greipel, but he has been form. At

the Tour de France he was not filing. There are a couple of

interesting ones. Ben Swift will be quite interesting. He got close in

the Tour de France. He is on home roads. Elia Viviani has that sharp

turn of speed. It should be a day for the sprinters. Normally it

always is. It is difficult, the laps around Surrey, they are difficult,

but it is a long running to the finish it normally does come back.

It did not last year. When people push it can always come right down

to the wire. There are teams here, especially Sky, it is the home race

and they will want to set it up for the win and the sprint. We heard

from Michael Matthews. Let's hear from some of the other main

contenders in this one. I am feeling good. I really want to do the

sprint. I really want to win the Classic. If we arrive in a bunch

sprint, I am one of the faster in the group. We have a good chance,

but if we see that the situation is too big at Box Hill, for sure we

have the riders. One big name any move, Ian Stannard, or when Bill,

Pete Kennaugh, we have the riders. We have a strong team. I started the

classics well and I had health problems. I had chances in the Giro

d'Italia that I did not finish. The same happened at the National is. It

is good. I am quite often they are in the final. I will be competitive

for the win. For me, the more aggressive the race, the better.

Once we get out into the Surrey Hills, we will try to animate the

race. It is better for me if I come in in a smaller group. The two times

I have been on the podium I arrived with the guys and five guys. It is

easier from a smaller group. There is a long way to go to get to the

finish line. It is tough, but with it being World Tour this year, we

will get the right combination of guys in the right teams, and it

could potentially be an interesting race. There is always a group that

tries to get away. Thomas was the last man standing last year. As

always, the plan for a Quick-Step is to try and aggressively be in the

break. We will try and win the race before the sprint and if that does

not happen, we will try and win the sprint. Who will have the legs at

the finish of it comes to a sprint? This is 183 kilometres, 20 K shorter

than we have had in the past. How will that affect things? It will be

over faster. The same race pans out, perhaps it is more aggressive, you

will not get the sitting and waiting but it will not make

much of a difference. The only chance that the non-sprinters have

got, there are five series climbs in this event, the last is Box Hill,

but from the last one that is about one out of racing. That is a long

time to get organised and bring it back for the sprint. Michael

Matthews was on the podium last year, third, Ben Swift has been the

nearly man a couple of times. Put your neck on the line? I am going to

see Sam Bennett. I did not see him before. I'd just as Chrissie was

riding. Elia Viviani, I think Sky will control it. He might do it but

Sam Bennett has stepped up another level. To see him do well would be

nice. He is a nice kid. We will get to the race shortly. As well as the

fellows on the commentary box, we will have David Millar doing his job

out on the road, in amongst the riders. Go to have him there. Chris

and Cav will make their way to the commentary box. Rochelle Gilmore is

already there, as is the lead commentator, Simon Brotherton.

Afternoon. Welcome to our live coverage. 94 kilometres to go. This

is the rate. The riders set off from the centre of London, just around

the corner from the mall. They started in Horse Guards Parade,

heading out south west over the River Thames, and into the Surrey

Hills. Staple Lane was the first climb. The highest point in the

south-east of England, Leith Hill. Two lapse of this section, then won

silver Box Hill and back to London. Through Kingston and Wimbledon and

into the centre of the capital, through Whitehall, left through

Admiralty Arch and into the finish on the Mall. Red-carpet treatment

for the peloton for the men's World Tour race. The riders setting off

from Horse Guards Parade, which was the volleyball venue at the London

Olympic Games five years ago. It was a rolling start for the main field,

with Buckingham Palace to the right-hand side. They headed out to

the official start of the race. They went past many of the iconic

landmarks of London. The official start itself was outside the

Victoria and Albert Museum. That was where the flag went down. The real

racing started. Just over 180 kilometres ahead of

them. Over the Thames by the Chiswick bridge, the traditional

finish for the boat race. At that time the peloton together and then

Schmidt Cas, the el -- were allowed to get away.

Plenty of time to get back into things. On the first climb Duval and

Kreder were dropped. They are going over the top of Leith Hill. The

highest point in south-east England. That is what's what happened so far.

There are our three leaders. Just to give you a bit of background, we

have got Keisse from Quick Step. Twan Castelijns and we have Schmidt.

Mark Cavendish has joined us. Good to see you. It would have been good

for the riders to see that breakaway go and enable

the race to settle down. The older this race gets, the more

people want to be involved. People don't want a strong break to go.

Those in the break would know they wouldn't be given a very long leash

today? Absolutery. Ly. They know it will be difficult, but these are

three strong guys. The rider in the blue is a former team mate of yours.

Yes he is a strong guy. It is exciting to have him up here in the

front. You have a good excuse not riding. But you're has been out on

the course, did you enjoy it. I did. Coming from being a professional to

not preparing for an event like that it makes sense you can't be as good

as you, but you have expectations that you're going to be. But I was

in the position of perhaps a lot of riders, where it was just a real

challenge to get to the finish. The last 30 kilometres I stood up on the

pedals and it was like knives going into my legs. That was a new

experience. The last time I experienced that was on day 8 of the

Giro d'Italia. There is a bit of wind out there so a tough day. In

the UK we have dead roads. When you say dead roads, do you mean heavy?

Yes, you feel like you're stuck to the road and if you're doing the

same amount of power, but you're doing a slower speed. So the race

has been brought down from just over 200 to 83 kilometres. It will be the

same effort. You want racing to the finish than just a resilience, where

people are on their hands and knees. They have changed the route they're

on this loop, we have two loops before they head over Boxhill and up

to London. Last year there were three of these loops around the

common to the south of Dorking, to what degree does it change the

emphasis of the race in favour of the sprinters? No the amount of laps

doesn't make a position. Boxhill will be the hitter, as you saw in

the Olympics, if the right move goes, it stays to the end. These

circuits are more just to wear down the legs of the riders for the

ascent up Boxhill to get the racing started.

You have a hundred thousand people riding, traffic-free roads in the

centre of the capital. Are you able to sort of enjoy a day like this,

when you would rather be riding, or did you find it difficult watching,

thinking I wish I would get out there. As a pro, you always want to

race. As a racer you always want to race. Having seen the growth of

cycling in the UK to see a festival of the sport, not just, not even as

a sport, but as a festival of cycling, where people are riding

with families or using it to commute, every form of riding is

celebrated. It is incredible to see the centre of London, probably the

most iconic road in the world, the Mall, to have people riding bikes is

incredible. Not just the people on their bikes, but 150,000 people

riding, but the amount watching everybody. I have the feeling that

this race is so internationally recognised now, because of the

course and the landmarks that it passes, I think that we have seen so

many riders, big names, wanting to take part here and of course there

is a lot of races that hold World Tour points and prize money, this

race has become special to all of the professionals and they want to

be part of team that races here. The most incredible thing that this race

has been at the forward end of world cycling for is pushing the parity

between the men's and women's race. There is equal prize money. The

women's race was great and it was an exciting sprint. Yes it was a great

race and it was Superfast and we saw a bunch sprint in the end and we

thought the the rain it may split up. But we didn't see a lot of

crashes, but we saw a lot of punctures. There was so many big

names. We couldn't say exactly who the favourite was. There was about

25 people on my list of favourites. So it was an exciting finish and

Team Sunweb won. From the female colleagues I spoke to, it is

arguably the biggest race on the calendar. It is and it has only

existed for a few years to already be one of the most important races

and I know being so close to the athletes that they do think all the

way back in January, all the year before, this is a race they want to

be part of. The riders going over the top of the hill. You thought

that Sky would be one of the teams looking to control it. That seems to

be what they're starting to do. Absolutely. They have got one of the

favourites with Viviani. He has not come out of Tour de France. The guys

from the Tour de France have the condition, but for a much longer

race. To have that explosive power, the three weeks in the mountains

takes it out of you. Sky will want to bring in their riders. His form

is good, winning a couple of stages in the Tour of Austria. There we are

with the front of line the Castelijns and Schmidt. I think they

will have company soon. We have one more lap still to come. They will do

through the high street in Dorking and have another lap before they

then leave into Boxhill. They have have to look out, these are small

roads around Surrey. You don't get to see more than a couple of hundred

metres in front of you. It is easy to watch one or two people go, but

then another two go around the corner and another two and it seems

like small groups are going and then you have a big group at the front.

For riders who continue want it to -- don't want it to end in the

sprint it is a long way to go. Geraint Thomas made that move on

Boxhill last year and he said he accelerated, looked behind, realised

he was on his own and he thought, I have bought my ticket, I'm going to

go with it. But he realised how far it was. He committed and you are in

no-man's land if you're on your own. You need a strong group. If you

don't put yourself there, you're chasing. Geraint was right to put

himself on the front foot and hope somebody would come to him rather

than have to chase a group down. 32 second is the gap and for the fist

time we can -- first time we go live to David Millar on the motorbike. We

are just coming over the Common. Going through the feed zone. I have

never seen the race like this. It is going to hard so fast and the wind

is ate so strong it is making it a different race. That is just people

being dropped. Although it is pedestrian from the front when you

see the lead camera. We will move up and you will get an idea. This is

the peloton is splitting up all over the place and looking at the riders,

and they're flat out. So at the moment it is a race of attrition.

That shows how much it means to the big teams, they're riding at a high

pace. UAE and Team Sunweb. I'm surprised. I've never seen them ride

the race like this. Mark, you can sense in the peloton the intensity

and the attritional nature of what is going on? Yes, everyone wants to

be at the front. With the small roads you have to stay there. It is

not a case of trying to break anything. It is with the small

roads, if you're back, you're always playing catch up. There is so many

people can fit on a road. Everyone will be pushing and that can take

the energy, but it makes it harder if you're not concentrated. Your

team, dimension data, they recovered well from your absence. It has been

a long time sense was saw them at that end of a spript competing --

sprint competing for the victory. He was unlucky where you couldn't

separate on a photo finish by the naked eye. He got the win, but the

team did well to pick up the pieces. Incredible, it is a team built

around going and delivering me to a sprint. Not just the physical aspect

of that, where they have been training differently, it is the

nature of the pressure put on them. I'm there to carry the pressure of

the team, because I have to deliver at the end of the guys working hard.

It would be all right if you wanted your opportunity like Edward did. He

went as a worker not as a leader. He didn't ask for the pressure. To

carry that is one thing. But when things aren't going your way it can

be harder and that weight gets heavier and heavier. To keep trying,

I'm so happy it paid off. He is such a good man and such an amazing

cyclist. It has been six years since his last Tour de France win. 2011

was the last time. And attention to detail, which in the sprints is a

big thing with you, knowing every inch of the road, I got the

impression that homework paid off for him. There was a round about in

the end and he another went to the right and the rest went to the left.

Without giving too much away, we have a great group of people... He

knew are to go? Yes he had the best guy in the car with Roger Hammond.

He was a small guy compared to most cyclists, but he raced with his

head. That is the best person to tell you what to do. And obviously,

you know in your absence, they're looking to others, Mark Renshaw, who

came second and what about Ryan Gibbons. Tell us about him as an

outsider. He rode as a trainee rider last

season. He caught my eye. Just how he's so races, he was not waiting to

be told what to do. If he saw something that happened, he would

adjust his strategy accordingly. That is quite rare in the modern

generation of cyclists. He got a contract, he went, he won in

Malaysia this year. As a sprinter, to get over some of the climbs in

that race, it was phenomenal. He definitely has the talent. He needs

a bit of confidence. He will be one of the best in the world in my eyes.

When he realises that, he will be unstoppable. He has greatly doubt

man depending on who they go with. He has a great man to lead them

through in Mark Renshaw. If Mark Renshaw decides to go, like you

said, he was second last year, we will see what happens. It is for

kilometres to go. It is Iljo Keisse from Quick-Step Floors on the back

at the moment. This is some of the information coming in, speed, power

and cadence, the difference between Keisse and Elia Viviani, certainly

the rider that one presumes Team Sky would hope to be involved at the end

of the race should it come down to a sprint. You would have to favour him

as being right up there and one of the fancied riders. You can see from

the graphics, you can see how much more you have to put in, even though

Keisse is not on the front, it is the power he has to put out to push

himself along. This is why it is important for sprinters to be

sheltered. People often think that sprinters are lazy, they do not do

anything. It is a job for sprinters to go fast at the end. They need as

much energy as possible to do that. That is why we have a team. It is

not lazy to do the least work as possible through the race. It is a

job. Sky are looking after Elia Viviani. He will be fresher at the

end. Sun well bid that brilliantly for Coryn Rivera at the end

yesterday. In the last lap we were trying to spot everyone. I had not

seen in the whole race, which meant she was probably going to appear. At

the last moment, she came to the front. There was a lovely move from

her Finnish team-mate. She overtook Habberfield in that move to get to

the front. Her team did a brilliant job. Absolutely. In cycling, the

team is your strength for a sprinter.

It is about confidence as well. I was looking in the peloton yesterday

to transport Coryn Rivera. She spent lots of the race file at the back.

Not once on the coverage could I see where she was. It takes confidence

to be able to sit back there I know that if moves go, you have a team

strong enough to be around you and bring you back to the front of the

race at the right time. Absolutely, it takes confidence, to know what

you're doing. She is a clever rider. She comes from behind and finds the

right time to go. Last year, she had some incredible victories in the

same style. Let's go back to David Millar on the bike. The three

leaders are about to be caught, and the? It is amazing. The three

leaders are riding well but Team Sky are driving this forward. The last

section we have gone through was so technical. It was the scariest

roller-coaster I have been on. We have just gone by the breakaway. The

peloton is coming down so fast. Team Sky are doing the damage, whipping

down that descent. There is no letup. With the small roads, there

is no letup. They're trying to rip the race to pieces by people getting

gaps, putting the pressure on. I have never seen it like this. It

seems like there is a real intensity about the race this year. Has the

World Tour status changed everything in the minds of the riders? I have

seen it since the beginning of the race. There is a different attitude.

There has been no moments of cameras. The pressure is on. It is

easy to forget how much the World Tour not only means to teams but

individuals. There are contracts, everything, if you get points. It is

change the make-up of the race. There is no more joking around. This

is a serious by grace. One other thing as well, the wind is always a

key factor in by grace. What is it like, is it difficult to tell. Is

the Wendy factor? It is difficult looking at the pictures to tell. It

is. The course is turning, left and right and protected in places, but

when it strings out, you can see. You have much better images of the

front of the peloton, but I can tell by the body language, the flat-out.

They know that if they can string it out on these roller-coaster

sections, they will rip it to pieces back end. The tactic is to take it

from the front, old school, and rip the race apart. Not from brute

force, but the technicalities of the course and the wind that is present.

The race rolling on through the Surrey countryside. Not far from

Dorking. Team Sky forcing the pace on the front of the peloton. Mark

Cavendish has had to move on but it was great to have him with us. He

will be with Jill Douglas at the end of the race. If it is a sprint, we

have the very man to dissect it afterwards, an expert, that being

his speciality. Chris Boardman has joined as in the commentary box. We

are mob handed this year. We have had a little breakaway group, but

there was never really any intention to give them much rope. In some ways

it is surprising with 80 kilometres to go that the peloton history

acting so strongly. -- that the peloton is reacting so strongly.

David Millar has said that they have got to use the terrain on the

course. They have two series climbs to go. After Box Hill, it is about

one hour of racing back to town. Sky riding like this is detaining anyone

from making a move. Last year it was Geraint Thomas who made a move over

the top of Box Hill. Nobody went with him so he was on his own with

about 50 K to go. He did not quite make it to the centre of London. We

saw in the finish of the Olympic Games in 2012, when it split up for

the last time, up one Box Hill they did a lot more circuits, but similar

terrain. On the long to town, it did not reform. Although it was a

sprint, it was from diminished group. It is possible with this kind

of pace that we could see a similar evolution of the race. How did you

find the roads this morning, Rachelle? We have had some pretty

rough weather in the last 24 hours? I thought conditions were

challenging for the Surrey 100. The wind is quite strong. I find myself

trying to slip into bunches to get some rest. Because the roads are

dead, it seems that the power output, the always needs to be

pressure on the pedals. I am very confident in bunch positioning, but

I've found the roads extremely difficult. Tough conditions. It will

be interesting to know with the other 35,000 people out there today

felt that it was a little bit more challenging than previous years with

the wind. I think some of them did find it more challenging than you,

because looking out of commentary window on the finishing line, there

are some people finishing that have been out there for a long time

today. Still smiling for the most part, still pedalling, more

importantly, and still rolling over the finishing line. 30,000 people

out there on the road today. 100,000 people taking part on two wheels

over the weekend. It is a great festival of cycling, 78 kilometres

to go. As Chris Boardman was saying, Team Sky with the intent of keeping

the pace high, detaining anyone from trying to disappear up the road. Ian

Stannard, standing out of his saddle. Just to the right of your

picture, second in line. The peloton fanned out right across the road.

You can see that they're communicating on the radio to get

some confidence from the team director, or the team leader on the

road that they are doing the right thing. They will be in a world of

pain, having to do this work. Do you think there is a situation where the

sprinter or protected rider feels this is too hard, if we go this hard

to keep the pace high I may not have the legs to finish in the end? On

this kind of terrain, certainly on the part of the course there are

now, there is a benefit to be near the front. Everybody has got to get

over it and if you are near the front you do not have the

deaccelerations and deceleration is, you have smooth lines through the

corners. Once they get over the last of the Hells, from that point it is

fairly flat. We have a problem. Owain Doull, who won a gold medal on

the track as part of the team pursuit squad at the last Olympics.

A really promising rider. Just 24 years of age. He will do his best to

get back to the peloton. It is a strong British based team today that

Team Sky have lined up. They had a big victory yesterday at San

Sebastien, a famous one day race with Michal Kwiatkowski. Reward for

him after his efforts during July own behalf of Chris Froome. It is a

strong squad they have got here today, racing from Sky with Owain

Doull, Jon Dibben, Pete Kennaugh, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Ian Stannard and

Iljo Keisse -- and Elia Viviani. Kenny Elissonde is also racing for

them today. Elia Viviani is the main man. Kenny Elissonde is on the front

at the moment as the head through the high Street in Dorking. A pretty

good spot to watch the race today as the starting point of the intricate

circuits through the Surrey Hells, -- Surrey Hells, featuring the claim

to Ranmore Common, and the tricky descent. There are couple of big

screens in the high in Dorking for spectators to follow the race as a

whole. That is the front of the race. A little bit further back,

there is a chase going on for one of the riders from Team Sky who we saw

a few moments ago, Owain Doull, working hard to get back on. He is

not hanging about. 60 kilometres an hour. He has a convoy to go through.

He will be happy to get into the reels. Yesterday for the women's

race, there were no team cars because the circuit was so small.

Once you punctured you were out of the race. There is more assistance

today. Palu Geoghegan Hart at the front at the moment, doing plenty of

work on behalf of his team-mate. Eighth overall in the Tour Of

California earlier this year in the spring. And a decent result in the

Tour de Yorkshire this year with the top ten finish in that one. There is

lots of nervousness in the peloton. You can see the changing places at

the front, setting themselves up for the next climb, which is not far

away. About 43 kilometres to go, when they will go over the top of

Box Hill, and it will be all down hill and flat into the finish. The

next 30 kilometres of racing is critical. You can see with the

intensity of the racing it will be very hard for anybody to make a move

or gain any ground at all, even with the two climbs still to come. Hard

to see the race splitting up at any point. I have to agree. We can see

that Sky is on the front. Sunweb riders floating around. I was

wondering whether Andrei Greipel's team would be riding for him. He was

a little lacklustre at the Tour. It seemed like he was getting warmed up

towards the end. He was second on the Champs-Elysees. He whittled down

the sprinters in front of him and he still was not winning, not the form

we have seen in the past. There were a few days where his team worked

really hard and did a great job when he was nowhere to be seen in the

sprints. That is most unlike him. He has won a stage in every grand Tour

he has ridden for several years until this year's Tour. The camera

showing what it is like inside the peloton. It looks like it is flowing

from helicopter shots, but you can see how frantic it is, how little

room to manoeuvre there is. It is a constant game of brinkmanship for

positioning. Owain Doull picking his way through the team cars, finding

his way back up to the end of the peloton in the not too distant

future, hopefully. In this part of the circuit, there is not lots of

room. The roads are not particularly wide tall. 73 kilometres remaining

on the road back to central London. A big crowd waiting at the finish,

they have been here all day. It is about one hour and 40 minutes left

to race. Plenty of time for something to happen. The riders at

the front are happy to back off because it is so narrow they can

block the road and pretty much prevent anybody from attacking and

taking them by surprise. It looks like Geoghegan Hart on the front for

Team Sky. They really do have confidence today, Team Sky. A key

kilometres to go and they have already been on the front trying to

control the race. They start with seven riders, that is right, seven

riders? The women started with six yesterday. Significantly smaller,

well, smaller than they started with at the Tour de France makes a

difference to the strength of your team to take control swelling. It is

a relief for the teams that they do not have to put a bigger squad in

for these races because they are stretched this weekend with San

Sebastien, and the Tour of Poland as well. Teams are sending riders three

ways at this time. It is probably why we have seen them stamping on

the breakaway so quickly. The only got four minutes early on the stage

and with a couple of hours to go, they wanted to bring it back because

they know they have not got the numbers. If anything develops, a

significant break, it will be hard to bring it back. Sky are well-known

for being able to calculate breakaways. Leaving them at a

certain distance before they bring them back. Sometimes the viewers and

myself get nervous about whether they are leaving it too late, but

they really do the calculations well. They are not leaving anything

to chance today. They are taking control a long way out. This is just

the sort of race that would have suited Mark Cavendish with plenty of

other teams looking to bring it back for a sprint. Owain Doull working

hard to get back in the peloton. One man in the middle of the action at

the moment, David Millar. Yes, this as well as Stewart Geraint Thomas

attacked and led to the whole of the Team Sky attack. At this speed, it

is hard to think they can do this for much longer. They are trying to

launch Pete Kennaugh and put the pressure on the other teams to chase

down and put Elia Viviani in the driving seat. The pace they are

setting is infernal. They are using Geoghegan Hart, and he is one of the

strongest riders. You can feel how narrow the roaders. At the moment,

does not look like they're going to do anything. This point last year

they launched offensive. They will either play the Elia Viviani card

outbreak, but at the same time, I am not sure if they can take this all

the way to the finish. I think something will happen soon. When

Geraint Thomas made a break last year, he was hoping that some people

would be with him when he looked under his armpit and made

deacceleration? Geoghegan Hart looks like he's doing a final effort. They

are really setting everything up, doing in the Telos. Elia Viviani is

setting back. Either he is not feeling good ideas feeling so good

they will let the other teams control it. It is looking very

aggressive from Team Sky now. Absolutely, with Geoghegan Hart on

the front. They have riders like Ian Stannard, who can ride on the front

all Dave he needs to. Unfortunately Doull, the team

tactics will play out. David Millar bang on the money with the

suggestion that is what Geoghegan Hart was trying to do. It has done.

It was a strong effort. It is breaking up. That is probably enough

for this quality of rider. It only looks like a few metres, it is the

penultimate climb of the day. That 10 metres could be the difference.

They were ride ing so hard to make sure everyone was on the limit

before they launched an attack. With seven man teams it won't take many

to get away for it to be difficult to catch. Trying to see who that is.

Is that Jack Bauer from Quick Step? Owain Doull can just about see the

rear end of the peloton now. Having been forced to chase back after a

technical issue. Two is not a big number as they go through the Moor.

The roads are still wet. That causes a bit of a problem. These two now

have some clear daylight behind they know it is a dangerous move. If they

escape, Sky, who have been holding the race together, and won't play a

part and all the other teams would be forced to do the work to try and

bring it back. It is Ellison being overtaken. He

did his turn at the front before Tao Geoghegan Hart. Hopefully he can get

back into the convoy and back on to the wheels. Normally they can use

the cars effectively to get themselves back into the group. With

these narrow roads, the vehicles are being held back and they're well

spaced out. Owain Doull is doing the right thing and riding at his own

pace and waiting until he has a chance. We have the main peloton and

a splinter group at the front. That might be too big a group to start

working together. We will have a look as soon as we can and bring the

make up. But the danger has been sensed. This race starting to split

up. By riding at his own pace Doull, they will start to pick up some of

the back markers. I think they will probably get themselves back on

terms, depending on how this pans out. At the front we are up to three

riders and that is a strong trio. Scombr Three riders ahead of

peloton. Gives you an idea of how split up. We have about 18 riders in

front of main peloton. The race is on here. Inside 70 kilometres to go.

Just over an hour and a half of racing to complete. 30 minutes I

would say in this difficult, twisting and lumpy terrain, before

they drive back into London. This is where they have to get it get it

together. Trentin a two-times stage winner in the Tour de France. The

other is Daryl Impey. Impey in the middle from Orica-Scott was the

first South African rider to win the jersey. Three very strong road men

and in good form. Utterly committing themselves to this move now. It is

good to see Trentin back in form. He rode in the Tour de France, but he

didn't finish. He was beyond the time limit on one stage. They had

some illness in the team and I'm not sure whether he was affect by that

or if he was held back with Marcel Kittel. His form up until that point

was excellent. This is a big group and it does seem to be toshinging

well. This is the -- to be working well. That might be Michael Matthews

of Sunweb, who one delighted to be sprinting from this group. He would

do well to get to the back of that group. The pace of Sky seems to be

having an effect. Kennaugh behind Impey's wheel. We have a gap for our

motorbike to slot in behind them so, they have done some damage. The

roads under the trees, changing from wet to dry all the time. These

riders working well together. We still have Box Hill to come before

the run back into London. Impey is driving it hard. Let's check on the

breakaway with David on the motorbike. Kennaugh did an amazing

attack and here they come by us. If we slow down, you get an idea of the

break. Impey is in incredible form and I saw him in the Tour de France.

Here they come and we will let them go by us. Because we are going into

a technical section. They go faster than us down the downhill. Here we

go. Bmc driving it and Dimension Day that. Jack Bauer there. We have a

leader situation. And behind still nothing. Still nothing. No. It is a

good gap. The riders in the middle group are the leaders now. We have a

full blown race. This tactic by Sky has worked, but they're putting all

their eggs in one basket with Kennaugh. You could see the gap not

only opened up by the three at the front, but that first chase group,

there was an enormous gap. They're still fighting it out from the

helicopter shots we had. They weren't committed to work together.

That can happen when a group gets too bloated and gets over six to ten

riders, people sit on and the rot sets in and if that it Michael

Matthews, they're not going to want to carry one of the best sprinters

in the world to the finish. It looked like him. Michael Matthews of

course will be brimming with confidence after his green jersey

win in the Tour de France. Kennaugh dropping off the group. That is

interesting he is choosing to give up his position. Maybe he has

decided if this goes all the way, I'm suffering. Maybe he doesn't feel

confident in the sprint. Maybe he can't stay with them up this climb.

It is deceptive. You can't see how steep it is. But he has let go. Sky

started this move and they have nobody in it. Kennaugh quickly on

the radio to the team. He wasn't working through. So maybe it is just

physical and he wasn't able to stay with the pace being set. Largely by

Daryl Impey. They're going to have to have a change of tactic and this

makes it more exciting. Sky have got two strong riders ahead of them.

Just the pair of them. 16 seconds the gap. The last time we were made

aware of the distance. Kennaugh who we are looking at it between the

front of the race and that Michael Matthews group. We will call it

that. It is interesting how athletes can cope with a situation like this.

I know within my team we had a discussion about that yesterday.

That some athletes are a bit hesitant to put their hand up and

ask for support, in case they don't have on the day. It is difficult to

know when you get out there, even if you have done all the preparation,

how you're going to be on the day. It is a scary position to be in to

put your hand up as a leader and have the team work for you. It is

just a part of bike racing. It is a big responsibility. Yes, but in my

case as a team manager, I'm trying to take the fear out of the

athletes' minds to put their hand up and have a go. It is just pike

racing -- bike racing. Pete will be disappointed, but he will do

everything he can. One rider I spotted that is Vanmarke. This is

the chasing group. He is looking behind. I don't know whether he is

not getting any information or something's happening out of shot.

You can see it is a steep descent. I remember this. Matthews confirmed as

being in there. It is quite a select group here. Michael Matthews is the

favourite for today and with the win yesterday, the team Sunweb are well

connected. Same ownership. But the athletes are supporting each other

and the women were lifted by the success of the men at the Tour de

France and yesterday's win would have lifted the morale of the men in

the team. Chris, what do you think about the fact that Mark Cavendish

had the same favourite that I mentioned to you? Yes absolutely.

There is probably about ten riders here who are classy. After the Tour

de France, you're not sure where people are on form. Sometimes it is

just how you hit the finish and how many team mates you have left to

help. These two would like to get another check on their lead. They

have lost 30% of their fire power. That will make a difference. This

group seemed to be committed to the chase now. As we mentioned

yesterday. Good to have a look at some of the others and go back to

David Millar on the motorbike. We have just, were just about to come

through. The second group is in front of us, the Michael Matthews

group and then the two in front, with Impey and we have the third

group. You will get an idea, you can see them there. Watch this. We will

show you how much of a gap there is. That is already. That is quite a big

group. That is the remainder of the peloton and that is being led by a

mix match. You see the size of the gap. We are about to come up. And

you will see this is the Michael Matthews group and we have Jacques

Bauer and a lot of hitters. Peter Kenyon. Ben Swift is there. Jack

Bauer at the front. And to the next group. That is group two. Behind

them is the peloton and here is the lead two riders and they know they

don't have a chance. Because there is so far to go. We come by them

there is Trentin and Impey. What has to happen is that that group, it is

almost worth it for those two to wait for that group. All start

working together and lose the peloton. That is the current race

situation. I love the pictures when we can see the gap and the distance

covered. So we have confirmation of who is in the second group and it is

hard to think how the peloton will get back on terms. David is right

the two up the front were part of reason that we have split the race

up and they were the ones that got out there and forced the pace. But

now the way it has developed, this is not a likely move. Just two of

them are unlikely to hold that move off. Impey has been on the radio,

but he is not getting any commitment from the team to back off and wait

for the group. They will keep plugging away.

Nice it would be good to get confirmation of who is in that

group, Oliver Naesen, Jack Bauer, Michael Matthews as well. Sam

Bennett. That is the big win, Rochelle Gilmore's favourite for the

day. Michael Matthews is probably the favourite in regard to his

condition and the confidence he brings out from the Tour de France.

He has a team-mate with him as well, Soren Kragh Andersen. It would be

good to make sure. Physically, and with the confidence, Michael

Matthews will be the standout favourite, but Sam Bennett will, in

a little more fresh. It would mean so much to him to ever victory this

year. He has stepped this year. For me, he is a favourite, because

knowing him personally, he is a top guy, as is Michael Matthews. The my

two favourites for the day. Confirmation it is Andersen in that

group as well. They're holding the lead at the moment. You saw from the

motor bike with David Millar on the course, it looked like a good lead

that they had, but in the scheme of things, in a race like this, it is

an advantage which can quickly disappear. They have won more climb

to go, all over the top of Box Hill. There are a few lumps, but that is

the main one. After that, it is 60 minutes to read back to London. It

is more frantic than you would expect in a race with 60 kilometres

to go. But they know that they have less than 20, just 20 kilometres, to

form this race. Here we are, this looks like the

chase group. Towards the back, I can see even Lampard. -- even Lampard

is. 13 seconds, the gap. Still going on the road towards stalking. Box

Hill looming on the horizon. It is still mightier Trentin and Daryl

Impey, the two riders at the front. -- Matteo Trentin. There are

probably about 20 riders now, 22 riders left in this race, assuming

the peloton does not get back on terms. We have not had any images of

the main peloton for some time, but everybody seems to have somebody in

this group. I am not sure that we saw a Sky rider in the chase script.

This is a helicopter shot. We can check. Just making a note myself of

who is in the chasing group. We will be able to bring you that shortly.

Pete Kennaugh is still in the chase group, in the Michael Matthews

group. He has dropped back. You do not have any kind of a problem that

stopped him sticking with this group. Maybe the terrain had changed

slightly. I am sure we will get some postrace interviews to fill us in.

These two are persisting and they have pushed the lead up by five

seconds as I speak. Experience Road men and they have decided this is

worth persevering with. Behind, of course, when we get onto wider

roads, and our camera bacon stick with the chasing group longer, we

will see just who it is that is doing the work. There might be

around 20 riders but it depends on how many of them are prepared to do

the chasing. Ben Swift involved in the chase group, Michael Matthews

from Sunweb. Sure enough, gaps are appearing in the chasing group. That

is Oliver Naesen on the front in the Belgian national champion's jersey.

I think that maybe Ben Swift who has gone past him onto the front. The

gaps are being caused by pace, it is not people being dropped by physical

ability, the riders at the back are not following the wheels and trying

to get people to come from the back can join in. There is no harmony. An

interesting development. In that group, Jack Bauer, Michael Matthews.

They are coming in for the fourth sprint in the high Street in

Dorking. Stefan Kueng is there as well, Dylan Vanbaarle, Sep Vanmarke,

both from Cannondale, Jasper Stuyven is there, and Oliver Naesen. From

AG2R. He is a team-mate of Romain Bardet. He is not here today. They

are pretty well represented. There is a rider from Dimension Data as

well. I got a slight limbs of him. I am not sure who it was. There is

Matthews, number 54, and Andersen, his team-mate, is in front of him.

They're trying not to do any of the work at the moment. That is the

problem if you have riders not going through in a group. I think it might

be Scott Thwaites from Dimension Data. There is a little gap at the

back of the group as people are trying not to work. Riders are

saying, I will not just nip onto the back. If you want to stay with the

script, you will have to ride through. They are not happy at the

moment. That is why the two at the front, despite being vastly smaller

numbers, they are gaining time. 24 seconds, that is the lead. We are on

the a 24 in Dorking. They have turned left through the Cockrell at

the roundabout. They are heading in the general direction of the climb

to Box Hill. Matteo Trentin. If you have joined the coverage, these are

the riders at the front, Daryl Impey in the Navy, from Orica-Scott, a

team-mate of Adam and Simon Yates. A South African -based rider, who had

a strong performance in the Tour this year. Trentin, a two-time stage

where, in 2013 and 2014, from Quick-Step Floors. Yves Lampaert is

his team-mate. The pair of them in discussion in that group. I get the

impression that the peloton might come back together. Yes, the peloton

is chasing furiously. Bora-Hansgrohe and Katusha. Behind, it isn't one

long line. 20 metres from me, I can see Pete Kennaugh, the back of the

group. That is how close. It is quite confusing with the images, but

I have the back of the group right next to me. That is why the harmony

was disappearing and no one was working together. Bora-Hansgrohe and

Katusha are chasing madly behind. That will deter everyone working

well together in the chase group. These are the riders up front. This

is the group and this is the peloton coming up on them. The two riders up

on them. The two riders op-ed, I do not know, the race is about to kick

off again on Box Hill. It looks like a very fluid situation out on the

road. Yes, if they can get to Box Hill it will reshape again and they

will have given themselves something of a head start. They're all just

playing brinkmanship, trying to sit on the back of this group. It looks

like it will reform before they get there. We will start all over again,

apart from the two out who are holding a 24 seconds. The riders

outfront, holding their ground at the moment. It is quite a chase

behind. The main body of the field are refusing to give up, refusing to

give way and chasing hard. This is the climb of Box Hill, the average

gradient 3.9%. The maximum, 9.3%. It is such a popular spot with

cyclists. It always has been, but particularly since the Olympic Games

as part of the road race course. At any time of the week, when you go,

there are always cyclists all around. Here we go. The fate of the

climb. I do not think it is quite as long as that. It is false flat in

places. After this much racing, it can be pretty tough. It depends how

hard you go up. The speed is the big you have to remember. I would be

interested to ask you, Chris, how you feel about Box Hill. It is so

famous because of the Olympics but people generally have the idea that

it will be a nasty climb, but down there this morning, I realised

again, I have written the course many times, that Leith Hill for me

is a tougher climb. I would agree but this was part of the Olympic

circuit and it has status because of that. Less than 4% average gradient

but if you go a bit quick enough it can still do damage. It has a lovely

road surface. That is something left over from the Olympics. Originally,

they resurfaced the climb part of it, which you can see. They left the

descent, which was the bit you needed to have a good surface on.

For sprinters you need the climb to have a good surface as well. Do not

pander to them, I say. I think it is the false flat after the climb that

is hardest, and through the next section after the top of the climb.

It does not drop straightaway. No, it is a false flat. Also, the next

ten kilometres is quite up and down as well. It is a climb that I really

enjoy. You can see that the surface is just beautiful. The riders piling

it on on the climb. Still riding at 28 kilometres per hour. They have

got them inside as they go round the hairpin. 28 seconds between them.

You would expect this group to be losing time, the two, but if they

can hold off over the top, they have a chance. About one hour and ten

minutes of racing remaining. Quite faint hopes, but they will stick

with it. They will stay outfront as long as they possibly can. These two

riders are about as strong as you're going to get if you have appeared on

a breakaway group. Just a little bit back down the climb with one of

Michael Matthews' team-mates from Sunweb on the front of the chase

group. Just under 20 seconds. Jack Bauer is well placed in second

place, the current time trial champion of New Zealand in the blue.

Jelle on his sleeves, another one who had a solid Tour de France. A

rider who has had success on British roads in the not too distant past,

riding in the Tour of Britain. A good number of the field have raced

on the Tour of Britain over the years. Jack Bauer is one of them,

winner of the stage that finish near Bath. Towards the front of the

peloton today. One of the advantages of setting a high pace for Sunweb is

it keeps everybody pinned down and discourages attacks from coming. And

let's see if there are managing to set a high enough pace for that to

happen. The gap is down to 17 seconds. They are on the same

straight, and here comes a move. It looks like a rider from BMC on the

front. It has done enough. That is six riders pulling clear. Remember,

Jean Pierre Drucker was the winner a couple of years ago, from BMC, the

biggest win of his career at the time. He has won a stage of the

Vuelta design your sins. BMC hoping for a good ride from him. You can

put people in difficulty on this climb, but not enough to make it

stick. It certainly sounds the death knell for these two. Less than ten

seconds. Not much of the league, you can see that from the helicopter

shot. They will be reeled in shortly. You can see how much this

has strongly peloton out. -- strung the peloton out. This is the front

of the chase group, behind the two leaders. Daryl Impey doing a strong

turn at the front of the race. They must know that the peloton are hot

on the heels. As they make the climb up towards the top of Box Hill.

The last big obstacle of the day and these two are unlikely survive it

and are looking behind. I think that flurry of attacks has caused

something of a lull behind. They might just get over the top. But the

race is on behind them. The issue in the Olympics wasn't the severity of

the climb, but the cumulative effect of it. Yes it is not just steepness,

but how fast you hit it and everybody's come at it quick. Let's

go over to David on the motorbike. You will be familiar with those

roads, it must bring some memories. Yes there is one rider flying.

Trentin and Empey and he has made a big difference. For the people who

do Box Hill, they were going about 27 or 28 constantly. When Drucker

attacked he was doing 37 kilometres an hour during those 500 metres. It

is pretty nuts. You can see the difference now. Impey and Trentin

are hanging on. But the peloton has come to a lull. All those attacks.

There you can see the peloton is looming. It is ominous. If that move

has gone, it is looking good for sprinters. The sprinters will be

happy with that. You can see the peloton in there behind Trentin and

Impey. Behind them is the rider. Trentin

has been riding carefully, but with that extra number, he is thinking it

might be worth of here. They're going see if they can stay clear of

the summit. Riders disappearing among the trees, high up on the top

of box HIV. -- Box Hill. They may reform and start to make contact

again on the descent. But one long line. The peloton split roughly in

half with riders just struggling to stay on. We have one rider who has

ridden off the front. I think he will be too late. That is STeiven.

They have three riders of top class quality. He has given Trentin the

enthusiasm. The same with Impey. All three reinvigorated now. If you were

in this situation, you would feel happy as a sprinter? I have probably

never been a break of three. You would be thinking we have got this.

Yes, I think that given that the bunch behind smelled and they came

back together and I think there is a lot of teams with interest to bring

this back to a spript. Sprint. We will assume Greipel is in there and

his team will want to close it down as well as Sky and Sunweb. They will

want to bring it back for a sprint. Between Box Hill and the finish, the

moves go and it will take a strong rider to take it all the way to the

finish. I think they have got a chance. It is a slim one, but it is

a chance. It will be decided in the next few kilometres when they get a

- eoff the hill. We will see how it is faking shape. -- taking shape.

These three are riding as if they have a chance here. It is great to

see them animating the race. Inside the last 50 kilometres and the road

back into London. The sun is shining at the finish. Hopefully it will

make its way down to the peloton as they head from Box Hill, Box Hill

village and over Headley Heath, one of the few remaining heathlands in

Surrey and then they head to Leatherhead. And then the route

leaves Leatherhead and recrosses the M25 and we know we are on our way

back into central London. This has given it impetus. As you

can see they're not hanging around. They're making the most of the

opportunity, however small it is. We will get some time checks, see how

the peloton is getting organised and who is doing the chasing. I think

they will take a few more minutes to get organised. Some of the domestics

will be further back down and it is worth the peloton's time to wait.

There is the front of the peloton. Here is the front of the race again.

20 seconds is the gap as Impey presses on at the front. Stiven

still hasn't decided whether it is worth it. 20 seconds is the lead. So

no change since the group formed. Jester Steiven came second in the

Giro d'Italia. They're still thinking there is

still plenty of riders and this could end in a breakaway. Three of

them forced themselves off the front with a reasonable gap.

It is a beautiful pedalling style and he is riding a good style and

they can start to point their toes. But he looks good out there. I'm

sure he is not feeling fresh, but he looks fresh. It is a very big part

of it as we see when some riders are under pressure they have the most

beautiful pedalling style. That is intimidating if you can keep the

composure on the bike when you're tie -- tired. There is the result of

king of mountain, ore Box Hill. That is the view back to the chasing

group. Here we are with the leaders. Their next area of population they

will be heading to is Leatherhead. The three of them working together

here. 15 seconds the gap. They're going to persevere and see if they

can snap the elastic. The secondary possibility is they drive on and

keep the pressure on behind, it does split up and they find their numbers

swelling and they get a bigger breakaway and they're part of it.

Sometimes it is a pre-emptive strike to be in a breakaway that doesn't

exist yet. Behind it is not chasing it is attacking. It is Sky getting

involved as well. With Sunweb. Sunweb will be keen for the race to

come back together. Certainly in time for the finish with Michael

Matthews as their main rider today. I think that is Bauer in the blue

with the yellow sleeves from Quick-Step. He has been following

every move, policing the front of the peloton. He will be trying to

disrupt the chase by staying close to the front. They will swing over

and he won't go. That was Anderson getting a couple of gels and a

bottle and No 14 is Selig. He would be the, one of the key men for Sam

Bennett at the end. Selig finished fourth in one of the sprints in the

Tour de France. The roads widening and flattening as they turn back to

the centre of town. The riders taking the opportunity to get some

bottles and have the confidence now to go back and get some food for the

team. You can see the rider there just waving the camera bike away. We

forget these images are being brought to us by a cameraman on the

back of a motorbike, who is a lovely big lump to follow to slip stream

and they're actually starting to affect the race. The bike moves

forward a bit and here we are back with the leaders and Impey's doing a

mountain of work. Trying to keep this going. He certainly is. They

can tart to sniff -- start to sniff the finish. 42ks, so less than an

hour of racing. So much experience Daryl Impey. He won the Tour of

Turkey back in 2009. He nearly snatched a stage win in the Tour de

France last year and finished second behind Steve Cummings. Cummings

winning his second Tour de France stage and Impey was second. Steve

Cummings would have enjoyed a breakaway like this. He had a couple

of goes at the Tour de France. Amazing he even got to the event

after the crash he had earlier in the year. I didn't think he would

make it back. He came back and made both national trials. Got to the

Tour, didn't quite manage the stage and got caught up in the GC battle.

He chose a hard stage to try and win. With about 30 kilometres he was

on his own in the lead. But that final climb was too tough. But great

to see him animating the race and he won the national Championship in the

Isle of Man before the Tour in the road and the time trial, coming back

from a nasty injury. That has no doubt secured his place in the Tour

de France. Who knows if that affected his base form going into

the Tour. 18 seconds. It is not changing this gap. It is not as if

the peloton are sitting up. They have seem to be getting organised

and you can see riders coming up and rejoining the peloton. The attacking

has stopped. The last of the hills is behind them and they're starting

to think about a sprint finish. The riders are thinking I'm not going to

get away. I will go into the service of my team mates. So the chase is

getting organised. For me in races, as a spripser or a - sprinter when

there was one hour left, it was that mental Triggs hear the says, OK, you

have worked so hard for so long, it is only one hour more of pain, can I

do this. That is when you demand the team bring the break back, or you

feel good, you may have suffered and thought it is too hard, that

triggers at one hour to go is important. You learn to break the

race up into chunks. I would count in kilometres and then the type goes

quicker. It is incredible how much you can suffer in a race, but when

you get inside that one hour you feel good. You can smell the finish

line and all the pain is behind you. No matter how hard it will be in the

last hour, the finish hour is less than an hour away. People wonder why

sprinters are off the back and not contributing, they think you're

bluffing, but you're going through that much pain, they say how did you

come good, you must have been bluffing, but with sprinters when

you can smell the finish line is closer, your body goes to another

level. It is a different energy source for sprint and we see riders

hanging on and they switch to a different energy source, burning

lactic acid. These three are extending the lead. This is our

first look at the chasing formation behind and we are not seeing a team

come together and boss this one. This might be confidence, with less

than 30 seconds gap, they think they have it under control, but it is not

to be taken lightly with riders of this class up the road. You may be

called, Chris, that this is possible, to take it to the finish.

I will still go with the fact that the sprint teams will come to the

front. It is a fast run into the finish. The thing about the sprint

is, the sprint is very difficult to judge. The roads are so wide. They

will have a few sprint trains going and if something happens on the

right side of the road and you are on the right side of the road, it

can all be over. When there are a few corners coming into the finish,

you can control it more, but the white sprint finish makes it

difficult to judge. We just have the double bend as they come round

Admiralty Arch. It is probably the widest road that any of them will

ever race on. We have not seen so much in the way of sprint trains

this year, funnily enough. We expected and wait for it to happen,

but we have seen a lot more individual sprinting and people

finding their own way, which makes it more interesting for us. Mark

Cavendish heavily relies on Mark Renshaw and some other team-mates

for a sprinting, but other sprinters, especially in our team,

we have Giorgio Bronzini, who jumps from wheel to wheel. Like Robbie

McHugh in use today back in the day. A freelancer. Riding on the

coat-tails of others. Sometimes you need to be able to do that. Dan

McClane, the British rider, needed to do that in the Tour de France,

trying to get into some sprint trains. He writes for a smaller

French team that do not have the firepower to do it for him. He has

certainly shown another in the sprints in the Tour de France to

suggest that if he had a strong team around him, he could maybe deliver

some good results. The league is being eroded. It is a little under

20 seconds. I think they would need a minute with 15 kilometres to go if

they were going to have a chance. The confidence is building in what

has become the peloton again. This will come down to a mass gallop. It

looks that way. BMC are prominent, up towards the front, Katusha with a

rider on the front of the peloton. BMC putting some riders in there as

well. Just looking at the squad, Drucker is the main man, the rider

from Luxembourg who won a couple of years ago. Stefan Kung is also a

strong young rider, the former world individual pursuit champion on the

track. At the front of the race, it is Matteo Trentin followed by Jasper

Stuyven and Daryl Impey. The rider from Italy on the front. Stuyven and

Impey from South Africa. They are just going over the M25. Traffic is

flowing freely. Little traffic report for free. If it is flowing

freely, it is mentioning. Often it is not. I'm usually free-flowing.

Just 36.5 kilometres to go. The weather improving all the time. 20

seconds is the official gap we are getting from the race radio as well.

That is accurate, what you're seeing at the top left of your screen.

These three continuing to press on and on the off chance that something

happens to let them stay away. For riders like Trentin and Impey, this

is the chance of doing something. If it comes to a sprint, they will not

be at the front. They are smart riders as well. Trentin knows, this

is the opportunity I have, the only one I can create today. We may as

well get stuck in because the only other option is to wait in the

bunch. He is clever. You have always got to like riders who are prepared

to try and animate the race. Let's go back on the road with David Mele.

Hopefully you will be able to show as the gap in real terms between the

trio at the front and the chasing peloton. What you do not see on TV,

these are the three riders about to come by. Matteo Trentin is on the

front. And Jasper Stuyven and Daryl Impey. Driving forward. You do not

see the howling tailwind on TV. It will give them hope. It is one of

the reasons the peloton will not give them so much time. Although the

distance is quite big, there they are coming round the corner. Four

teams are contributing, Team Sky, with Tao Geoghegan Hart back on the

front, BMC, Sunweb and Katusha. Four teams are chasing. They know they

cannot give the breakaway any room. When it is a tailwind with three

riders that strong, they can have such an advantage. Distance wise it

is quite long because they are going so fast, 55 kilometres per hour, it

is flat out. They will not give them any room at the moment. Flacco

chasing on the road towards London. Interesting that Katusha are

contributing, one of the four maintains that David was saying was

contributing. In perhaps that suggest that Alexander Kristoff is

feeling good. At his best, he would be one of the riders at the front.

Yes, disappointing Tour de France for him. He did not come close. He

was thereabouts in the sprints but he did not take a stage. He will

want something out of the remaining part of the season. 177 was Elia

Viviani from skies who won a gold medal in the Yonny on the track one

year ago. -- in the omnium. He has won about four stages in the Tour of

Britain, including one in London. Trek-Segafredo are lining the team

at bank Katusha. It looks like it is getting organised. Despite having so

many riders, Sky, they just have Tao Geoghegan Hart at the moment

contributing to the chase. They feel it is under control and they will

press everybody else into service with about 15 kilometres to go. With

so many riders from Trek-Segafredo at the front of the peloton, it will

not make things easier for the leaders. The comfortable, Ian

Stannard is held in reserve, a big engine, waiting until it is time to

go to work. On this flat terrain, you can sit in the wheels and be

confident. You can see how much easier it is to sit there, virtually

freewheeling when the 20 riders back, compares to these three are

absolutely driving. There is no letup et al. 22 seconds is the

current time gap. Chris, in your opinion, what could we expect the

lead out order to be for Elia Viviani of Sky? It is hard in

women's cycling to find that last lead out rider that you can depend

on. Those riders have to be a sprinter in their own right,

superfast. You often find that a rider that is fast enough to win a

race does not want to be the last man in the lead out, they want the

opportunity for themselves. I am not sure they will go in that direction.

Looking at the make-up of the team, it might be about making sure that

we get there and they will let Elia Viviani find his own way. They will

not be the team that tries to close it down the last few kilometres, and

then they will use the trains of the other teams. -- they will be the

team that tries to close it down. Mark Renshaw has been a superb lead

out man for Mark Cavendish. But he is a very good rider in his own

right and the did come a point where he did go off and do his own thing

for a little while but he found it harder to get those big victories

and take the extra step and the responsibility of it. The

responsibility is massive. If you have a team meeting, there might be

several riders in the team that say they never get opportunities. If you

say, who is feeling good today and once the team to ride for them? You

will find that not many riders have the confidence to put their hand up

and say, I want the team to work for me. And even if Mark Renshaw has the

physical ability to be a world-class sprinter. Riders need to step away

from that role of lead out man at some point and have a go, see how it

goes. That is one of Mark Cavendish's great qualities. It is

about delivering. He has done it time and time again. He is able to

take that responsibility on board and be the kind of leader that other

riders want to ride for, because of the way he responds to them. Because

he wins. Because of the way he deals with them? The team get caught

badger team gets confidence when you believe. We have seen it with

Sunweb. If you do all the work and the person you're working for

delivers the result, it is a fantastic feeling to be part of that

team. It is something I could not be myself but I can feel proud to be

part of this. You can see coalitions forming very quickly and becoming

very tight. As a sprinter myself back in the day, I had some very

wise advice that did not sink in until after my career. Giorgia

Bronzini said to me many years ago, I was very introverted, and I spent

a lot of time in my room. She said, when you need the support of the

team, you also need to invest time in personal relationships. It is

different in men's cycling. This is back when women's cycling was not so

professional and riders were not paid to do a job, it was for the

Passion of it. I realise now it is important for a sprinter to spend

time with their team-mates, give them confidence and talk to them

about how you are feeling. It is important to build those

relationships when you have to ask your team-mates to lay down the

line. We saw that with the Astana team in the Tour de France. They

simply did not like each other. The fact they were being paid hundreds

of thousands in some cases did not matter. They did not like each other

and when it got tough, they were not bothered about the result. Let's go

back to someone on the road to one a your race is back in the day, David

Millar is back with the leading riders. The gap is back to nearly

half a minute. It is the peloton, not the leading riders. The chase

has fallen to pieces. Slow down. There is only one Katusha rider

left. Sunweb have pulled out, even BMC. They are blocking. A Quick-Step

rider went up. Trek-Segafredo are the chase. About two kilometres of

all, all the riders did pay loss. On Sunweb rider is left on the front.

All the teams are running out of team-mates to do the chasing. What

they do have left, they want to save it for the final lead out. In the

meantime, the three strong riders up the front, normally they would not

stand a chance, but because of the tailwind, they do. Sunweb have tried

to call the bluff, but it has been called. The Katusha rider cannot do

it on his own. It has got very interesting. The peloton is getting

desperate. I noticed that all the Trek-Segafredo riders all went to

the front of the peloton, presumably they went up there too disruptive

thing that was going on. Yes, showing dominance. It is showing

morale and the fact they are ready to counterattack if they are caught.

It deters the whole chase. Before Trek-Segafredo sitting up, you add

all these team-mates sitting up and they go back to do the rotation and

instead of another person coming in, a Trek rider comes in and starts the

rotation. They were not doing anything wrong but interrupting the

chase to the point where the other team-mates started giving up in

front of them. Katusha was left with one rider and four Trek-Segafredos.

It is a Classic old school technique to make the time gap glide. There is

only two Katusha riders. One Sunweb rider. Three riders against three

riders are out of sight. Those three riders are not strong enough to

chase those guys with this tailwind. Trek-Segafredo keep holding the play

is hoping to block what is going on. In the meantime, Trek are doing the

same. It is an interesting tactical situation. The team mate -- the

team-mates of the sprinters will have to come up and commit to the

chase. I cannot see those three riders and it is a long straight.

These guys will know this and that is the advantage when you have a

tailwind. The rat terminal velocity. We are doing 67 kilometres per hour

and we are doing the same speed as them. Brilliant pictures from David

Millar out on the motorbike with the pilot doing a fantastic job as well.

The race is flat-out back to London. At the moment, it seems to be

benefiting those at the front. We talked about the size of the teams

earlier, which is changing the dynamics to the race. You have nine

riders in the Tour de France, we are going to seven riders. It changes

things. You can influence the race but you cannot control it. Everybody

is finding that out. They are playing brinkmanship, watching the

kilometres takeaway. These are the three high-quality riders. The three

that are chasing are not good enough to bring them back, with all due

respect. It has gone to well over half a minute. Because of the

quality we have got at the front and the weight is panning out behind,

normally you would not give them a chance with this sort of gap and

distance from the end. With the likes of Greipel and

Viviani they're teams that we would normally see at the front. That is

why the prediction was it would come back to a sprint. But in the case of

Kristoff, he seems to have reacted to the disappointment of Tour de

France better than say dprie pel. We have -- say Greipel. I wondered how

Kristoff would feel, he had a heavy fall. Presumably Greipel's team are

saying, we will see if somebody has pulled it back. If he bluffs, I

think people will believe it. But I think it will come down to a sprint,

despite it being 35 seconds. But we have seen Sky have sent somebody up

and still not gone through in fourth position now. So everybody looks

like they're about to contribute, but only Dave can see on the ground

they're present, but not actually working through. We are seeing one

rider riding on front and everybody else is waiting. We have seen a

quick shot of the back of the chasing group and Sunweb seem to be

all positioned together, bar that one rider. That may mean they're

getting ready to come to the front and it depend how Michael Matthews

is feeling. Even if he did struggle over the climbs, he will now get

that adrenaline and start to feel good. You used the word feel, that

is what it is. Only the riders can feel the gap and think, what is the

gap, how is it changing, how do I feel. Behind in the peloton the

teams are starting to get tomorrow and form up. Tha get together and

form up. They have drawn together just waiting to do something. I

still think it is going to happen. But it made a fascinating race. We

are looking at a drag race back into London. As you can see, the rider

from Katusha Alpecin has not got in here. It looks like Tao Geoghegan

Hart, who did a lot of work earlier. But clearly he has a second wind.

That is the straw he has drawn for the day. The helicopter gives you an

idea of the speed. But it is still not fast enough as the break creeps

clawing away and grabs another second and another one. It is

stable. But it is a big gap that they have got now with 24 kilometres

to do. -- to go. You can can see to the front of peloton sub Wen --

Sunweb are lined up and they have directions. The fact they're

together and moving to front of the peloton, they're having confidence

in Michael Matthews and we will see them move to the front. If they have

to. A lot of teams play the mental game and wait to see who will take

on the chase. 35 seconds with just under 24 kilometres to go. We will

see some of the teams who are having sprinters that feel good move to the

front. Half an hour of racing remaining. And it is all but flat

all the way back here. Just that climb up through Wimbledon to the

common before they then head back down through Putney and over the

river. While we are watching the race unfold, we still have riders

coming in from the RideLondon event. We are in Kingston, that is another

good place to watch the classic. One of the few places you can see the

race on the way out and the way back. It was a key spot in the

Olympics for the time trial. Remember the day Bradley Wiggins won

the time trial. . Well sheltered from the wind among these buildings.

It will get more densely populated as they head to the Mall. Beautiful

shots of the Thames. One more sprint to come at Wimbledon, the fifth and

final sprint. But it is all about who is going to win the race itself

today now. These three have been mopping up the points. But I don't

think they will even flinch as they approach the line. They will roll

through and focus on the effort at staying away. They have lost some

ground. 28 seconds now as perhaps as a result of these bends. I would

estimate they're ten minutes from Wimbledon now. And the run-in to

central London. A big crowd waiting on the Mall, all the way up

Whitehall as well. I wonder, because they have a cut off for other people

in the big mass participation rides this morning and there is still a

lot of people rolling over the line. But at some point they're going to

have to say, I'm sorry and divert the remaining few off the road so

that the race can come through. Considering we are half an hour

until they arrive, that will be soon. We haven't seen anything like

a broom wagon coming through. Trentin in the blue and white is a

two-time stage winner in the Tour of France. Stuyven there. He is in the

red and black. As they head near Hampton Court palace and Daryl Impey

from South Africa racing for Orica-Scott. They're half a minute

clear of the peloton. That was the scene of the closing moments of the

time trial in the Olympics. You remember the pictures of Bradley

Wiggins sitting on that throne, giving the victory sign. What a week

that was. Coming so soon after his victory on the Champs-Elysees in the

Tour de France. They have lost nearly ten seconds. Let's go back on

to the road and join David Millar at the back of the peloton. We are just

coming by now. Ben Swift had a puncture. UAE has two team mates.

Team Sky, Viviani is there. Orica-Scott are there. That is the

reason we are not seeing some of the teams on the front helping with the

chase, they have no team mates left. It is getting desperate. Katusha are

flat out and even here, it is up close and personal, but this is a

hard run-in. Especially with a tail wind. I remember with the Olympics,

you can't underestimate the effect. It is a flat out chase. It is due to

this howling tail wind and the strength of the riders at the front

and only one or two team may wants can commit to the chase -- team

mates can commit to the chase. It is a pursuit between the left over guys

and the guys who have been chasing for a long time and behind those

four chasers you have the Bmc and Quick-Step. We will come back. Bmc.

Five riders. Sunweb, four. Five for Trek-Segafredo and only three people

chasing. Only two Katusha riders and one Sunweb. Three versus three. That

is not enough at the moment. More people need to join in, don't they,

Chris? I looks to me as if they're playing brivengmanship --

brinkmanship and people can get involved in the chase. We have seen

do this and time it wrong and not make the bridge. It is a fascinating

run-in. Races can be boring, they're flat and you can wait for a sprint.

But we haven't seen that, we have seen some proper racing and we have

the new points that are coming in, being this one of major races in the

season. So it is important for everybody. It was up close and

personal. I thought Ian Stannard was going to have a chat with him!

Inside the last 20k and it is still 25 seconds. In your opinion, Chris,

at this point of the breakaway riders, will they be pushing on the

pedals with 100%? Yes right now they have got, there is no thinking about

the finish. They have put a lot into creating this move. They have got

absolutely nothing to lose and for the moment they are a team of three.

They're their own little team. That will disband inside the last five

kilometres and sometimes the break assassinates itself by starting to

play that game too early. Then they can get swamped. It wis be close. --

it will be close, but I think we will see a lot of people coming into

the chase in the not too distant future. But they have lost more than

10 seconds of their lead. The riders heading for Wimbledon. There is the

chasing peloton. It is certainly strung out. Looks like they're going

over the A3. People are strung out and feeling confident that nothing

will disrupt the flow and I don't have to fight to be closer forward A

lot of riders are comfortable and waiting to get to the finish.

Because their opportunities have gone and in some cases their job is

yet to start. This is the Prudential RideLondon classic. Just 18

kilometres remain. We are on the Mall beside Buckingham Palace. It is

a World Tour event and the first time Britain has hosted it own men's

World Tour events. Yesterday we had the first women's World Tour event

with the Classique, that was also held last year. But the men taking

centre stage this afternoon. Just before we get into the thick of the

final action, it is worth saying you might see some ride wers numbers on

their -- riders with numbers on their bars, they're supposedly going

to close the road at quarter two for the other riders. But they will be

held at the side of the road until the race goes past. This is an

arrangement that has been made in advance. Normally they cut the road

and say that it is. But they will hold them and let them continue.

That is an interesting development. The leading riders are in Wimbledon.

Trentin in the blue and why not. Impey in the naval and Stuyven in

the red and black. Katusha with two lonely riders at the front. We have

had a strong indication that Kristoff must be feeling good. A

committed effort. Michael Matthews, Viviani, is there any other

sprinters we should look out for? Possibly Sam Bennett. Of course we

have mentioned him. My favourite for the day. It is hard to tell, because

it is so kwied and there is a lot of room to -- wide and there is a lot

of room to manoeuvre. Once you're in London it is flat and you get

shelter. We have seen some surprise wins here. So I think Greipel is

still in with a chance. Because it is not suited to a clean leader, he

could jump wheels and be there. It is a really, because of the wide

sprint and you can do it without a team, dprie pel is such -- Greipel

is such a strong sprinter, if you make a mistake, you can correct it.

We have seen that in the past with the women. It is a strong sprint.

Sunweb starting to get involved again. They sense they're close

enough to the finish and to the three ahead. It is 15 seconds. I

think that is the end of it. They're back in sight and they know they're

in control of the race and these three, they can overhaul them when

they need to. It is almost certainly going to be a bunched sprint here

now and the peloton, the confidence has let them tangle and starting to

assemble. Rather than getting on the front, they will be doing just

enough to keep it at this distance. The two riders from Katusha have

helped to make the difference and they have not had a lot of help from

elsewhere for a while now. These three will know that the peloton is

not too far away. It is a big distance and that will stake some of

the enthusiasm out of the efforts as well. We have two Katushas at front,

and Sunweb and Quick-Step have some riders up to front end. Katusha have

taken control of the chase and done a superb job. They will have the

director telling them coming into RideLondon it is important for us,

the disappointment of not winning a sfaj at the Tour de France. But it

could be Kristoff saying I'm up for this. It has been, the Katusha team,

that have taken up the chase. Sometimes that pressure for a

sprinter that your team has done so much work it can work both ways and

you get too nervous you don't want to let them down, or you say I have

to finish this off. Daryl Impey has not been able to

hold the pace on the climb up to Wimbledon Village. I know this road.

It is quite a drag. He has got the message in his ear, it is coming

back, less than 15 seconds. He was driving it over the top of the last

climb. He is paying for that effort now. These two are persisting. The

passion of before seems to have ebbed away. They know that they are

almost certainly destined to be caught. Despite that, Jasper Stuyven

still looks pretty good on the bike. He is certainly very fluid, really

stylish. Both of them are. These twists and turns, it would help them

if they were going to persist. It is hard to get a real chase happening

behind. People tend to be penned in position through the bends. What is

it like on the road? We just came up the little falls flat that would not

be an issue, and it is ready Ian Stannard attacked last year, behind

Geraint Thomas. It is Jasper Stuyven and Matteo Trentin left. Nobody

would have seen Trentin begging for a bottle before. After the initial

attack on Pete Kennaugh, he and Daryl Impey only had the one feeds

on. They never got the gap over one minutes they never had a team car

and there has been no neutral service to give them bottles or

food. That would have been contributing massively. I always --

I almost felt like getting Stewart Poulson, the man who has got me

through today, to go back and get bottles for them. Stuyven has been

incredible, as has Impey. Everyone underestimates the running. It just

wears you down. It is not that hard, but it is very long. It is almost a

60 minute time trial. After a race like this, you cannot complete with

-- you cannot compete with the peloton.

David Millar, the good Samaritan, going back with some Mars bars. He

did not say he did it. He thought about it. We can see the time gap

going out. Is that the result of the peloton not wanting to catch so the

back of? I think it is confidence. They have brought it back, they

realise it can be done, it is a manageable amount, 12 kilometres to

go. I watched this is a non-sprinter and think, it will be close, but

they know their jobs. It is why they get paid a lot of money, they are

professionals, they have a real feel for it

and they know when to go to work. 18 seconds for these two, 12 kilometres

to go, it will start behind soon. If they catch them to rarely you will

get counterattacks and that is what the sprinters teams do not want.

They want them all to arrive together on the line, catch them as

late as the beer, three K to go, but there are still hanging out there.

There is still a glimmer of a chance. I think what we are seeing

is confidence. Sunweb with a wider forward. I cannot see who it is. We

could not get close enough there. Sunweb and Katusha bringing the

peloton bag. Trek-Segafredo just sitting there, they have the man at

the front of the race, Jasper Stuyven. You could see in the

chasing peloton that Trek-Segafredo have lots of riders towards the

front. That would indicate that they would be a team without the pure

sprinter that would go... There are possibly monitoring things, covering

moves, making sure that nobody gets away, helping to disrupt the chase,

raiding in the front, getting in the way. They are getting involved in

this race and waiting to see if anything develops. As you were

saying, I am not sure who the obvious sprinter would be if they

were waiting for that. The man they were hoping to bring to London, John

Degenkolb, not able to make it this weekend. His wife was expecting