Results Tour of Britain 2026 Stage 5 - Tim Wellens seals overall victory as Nils Politt crowns UAE domination with solo win
CyclingSunday, 06 September 2026 at 15:48
Tim Wellens sealed overall victory at the 2026 Tour of Britain on Sunday as UAE Team Emirates – XRG produced a dominant final-stage display around Earlston, capped by Nils Politt taking the stage win ahead of teammate Florian Vermeersch.
The day initially developed around a four-man breakaway of Ben Wiggins, Michal Schuran, Jonah Killy and Marcus Sander Hansen.
Schuran strengthened his grip on the mountains classification by taking maximum points on Redstone Rig and Duddy Bank, while the escape built an advantage approaching three minutes after a rapid opening hour.
The race changed completely through the middle section when five UAE riders moved into the front group alongside Filippo Ganna, Wiggins and Sander Hansen.
UAE blow final stage apart
Wellens was joined by Mikkel Bjerg, Benoit Cosnefroy, Politt and Vermeersch, giving UAE five of the eight riders at the head of the race.
Lewis Askey, who started the final stage 21 seconds behind Wellens overall, was caught in the chase alongside Jasper Stuyven, Daan Hoole and Olav Kooij. Despite Askey contributing to the pursuit, the gap grew beyond one minute as UAE continued to dominate the front of the race.
Ganna collected maximum bonus seconds at both intermediate sprints, but remained too far behind Wellens on GC to threaten the Belgian’s overall lead. With the gap holding deep into the finale, Wellens was able to close in on overall victory while his teammates turned their attention towards the stage.
Politt completes dominant UAE finale
Politt attacked from the leading group with around 7.5 kilometres remaining and opened a gap that proved decisive. The German held on to win solo in Earlston, 12 seconds ahead of Vermeersch, completing a UAE Team Emirates – XRG one-two. Ganna finished third at 18 seconds, with Cosnefroy fourth and Sander Hansen fifth.
Behind, Askey was unable to recover enough ground to threaten Wellens’ position at the top of the standings, confirming the Belgian as the 2026 Tour of Britain overall winner.
After taking control of the race with his Stage 4 attack on Redmire, Wellens finished the job one day later as UAE underlined their superiority with a spectacular collective performance on the final stage.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- Greater depth to a race means that surprises (from the breakaway) are more possible. The favourites have to react more, so even if one of them still wins, the nature of the race could be different and more exciting
Rafionain-Glas06-09-2026 - Must be very disappointing. Here in Britain no-one gives a hoot about the Tour of Britain coming round.Rafionain-Glas06-09-2026
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leedorney06-09-2026 - For someone who announced their grand exit, you’re putting up quite a valiant fight against the clock.anonymouscyclist06-09-2026
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- it might be very easy if the majority of riders had the same agenda. just refuse to ride. but that's not the case, and many have good reasons for it because they depend on contract negotiations, etc. ...Ketterechts06-09-2026
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- Matthew's is right !!captmike06-09-2026
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