Nils Politt lands the stage 5 victory and Tim Wellens claims the overall title, as the Emirati squad produces masterstroke on the final day
Finishing the job on stage 5 in Scotland, Tim Wellens landed the overall title of the 2026 Lloyds Tour of Britain. The Belgian defended the green jersey on the final day, taking UAE Team Emirates-XRG‘s 71st victory of the season.
It was an extra special day for the Emirati squad, with Nils Politt taking stage 5 and landing the team’s 70th win of 2026, just seconds before Wellens crossed the line in green. The whole race was a demonstration from UAE Team Emirates-XRG, with the squad decimating the peloton in the crosswinds and heading up the road with five of its riders.
In a front group of eight, a remarkable five of the number hailed from UAE Team Emirates-XRG. Their attack came more than 80km from the finish, with the team making the most of Duddy Bank (1.9km at 5.5%). It was on this climb that Wellens, Politt, Mikkel Bjerg, Florian Vermeersch and Benoît Cosnefroy took their leave from the pack, producing a team performance that will be remembered for years to come.
For Wellens, the win is his second of the season, but his first general classification success since the 2024 Renewi Tour. The 43rd victory of his career was taken thanks to a stellar display on Saturday’s stage 4, which launched him into the leader’s jersey that he was able to defend on Sunday.
Raced completely within the Scottish Borders, to and from Earlston, stage 5 of the Tour of Britain took the peloton into the nearby Lammermuir Hills. The race began under wet and stormy conditions on Sunday morning, but the weather cleared as the afternoon dragged on, UAE Team Emirates-XRG made an exhibition of defending the green jersey of Wellens.
A four-rider breakaway went up the road as the stage left Earlston, including Ben Wiggins of Team Great Britain. Their advantage was soon pegged at the two-and-a-half-minute mark, with Fix All Quick-Step combining with Decathlon CMA CGM and UAE Team Emirates-XRG to marshal the front of the peloton.
The main tests of the day were to be Redstone Rigg, Duddy Bank and Hardens Hill, with the trio of categorised climbs falling in the middle of the stage. In the green jersey, Wellens was surrounded by his teammates and remained in prime position. Their job was clear: remain in place to ward off any attacks.
However, under the impetus of Netcompany-INEOS, the race was torn to pieces in the crosswinds. The British squad started the move, but UAE Team Emirates-XRG soon came to define it.
Looking every bit the champion-in-waiting, Wellens remained attentive in the green jersey, and alongside his nearest teammates, took the race by the scruff of its neck. With his assured display, the 35-year-old secured the overall title of this year’s race.
Alongside only Filippo Ganna of Netcompany-INEOS, the five riders from UAE Team Emirates-XRG went up the road and left the peloton in their wake. The strongest team in the race was flexing its muscles, and the roadside fans were treated to a spectacle.
As the leading group of eight riders approached the final 10km, their advantage had stretched to beyond a minute. It was at this point that Politt grabbed his chance for the Emirati squad, attacking from the front and dispatching of the battling Wiggins.
Once on his own, Politt did not look back. The stage was to be his, a 10th career victory, and behind, his teammate Vermeersch rode to second, with Cosnefroy in fourth.
Taking a 1-2-4 finish on the final day, UAE Team Emirates-XRG ended this year’s Tour of Britain in spectacular fashion. Not only had their efforts delivered Wellens to the overall victory, but landed a stage win for Politt and a win in the team classification.
As such, the whole squad took to the podium in Earlston to celebrate a job well done. It had been an exhibition on Scottish roads, and become a race to remember for the Emirati team.
For UAE Team Emirates-XRG, it was a maiden victory in the Lloyds Tour of Britain, and for Wellens, it was the 10th GC win of his career.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG went on the front foot in Lincoln on the opening stage, placing both Wellens and teammate Florian Vermeersch inside the top 10. This outing was followed up by a crosswinds casino on stage 2, in which the Emirati team played a fine hand to move Wellens up to second overall. Of course, it was on Saturday’s Queen stage that the race-winning move would be made.
Between Helmsley and Leyburn, Wellens and co. went on the attack in the Yorkshire Dales. Turning the race on its head, the Belgian dropped the race leader Lewis Askey (NSN Cycling Team), and rode himself into the green jersey.
After successfully defending green and landing the overall Tour of Britain title, Wellens was in fine spirits when discussing the race on Sunday evening.
Wellens: “It was a great week, not only for me, but for the whole team. It was a very successful week. We came here for the GC, and then today we also have this stage victory. So it has been perfect.
“Today, to be honest we just wanted to defend the leader’s jersey. We didn’t want to attack, we didn’t want to make a hard race, we just wanted to ride defensively. Then suddenly in the crosswinds, Ineos started to ride hard. We just followed, there was a gap and then we just tried to tempo with Mikkel. But because the crosswinds were so hard, when Mikkel was riding the tempo, the group split again and we put the whole team in the front. We can say that today we win especially thanks to Mikkel, who made the gap.
“I cannot say this has happened before, but it was quite impressive. I have still a lot of nice races to come, but first we celebrate this one. I am happy to bring the trophy home.”
Tour of Britain 2026 stage 5 results:
- Nils Politt (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 3:33:28
- Florian Vermeersch (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +12″
- Filippo Ganna (Netcompany INEOS) +18″
- Benoît Cosnefroy (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) s.t
- Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) s.t
- Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +21”
Tour of Britain 2026 general classification (final) after stage 5:
- Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 19:35:32
- Lewis Askey (NSN Cycling Team) +42″
- Jasper Stuyven (Fix All Quick-Step) +1:03
- Florian Vermeersch (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +3:02
