Irish international Rory Townsend has again put in a great finish at the Tour of Britain, taking 6th place today after his 5th on the opening stage 24 hours earlier.
Today's 183.9km stage from Sherford to Exeter saw US rider Robin Carpenter (Rally Cycling) take a solo victory after he was the sole survivor from the early breakaway.
That escape group whittled down to just two - Carpenter and Jacob Scott (Canyon dhb SunGod) - and with 25km to go they still had a four-minute gap.
Carpenter attacked Scott just inside the 25km to go marker, getting clear of him and then hitting out for home solo. He held off the peloton by 33 seconds to win the stage and take the race lead from yesterday's winner Wout Van Aert (Jumbo Visma).
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As was the case yesterday, the main field was trimmed back significantly today, with Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) winning the sprint for 2nd place from the reduced peloton. Former Team Sky rider Alex Peters (SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling) was 3rd.
Just 55 riders were credited with the same time as Hayter at the finish and all four Irishmen in the race were in that group. Townsend impressed again for Canyon dhb SunGod and his 6th place was further evidence, if it was needed, that he has the legs to compete in the biggest company.
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Nicolas Roche (Team DSM) was 24th, Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) was 39th and Irish champion and U23 international Ben Healy (Trinity Racing) was 55th. That was a solid performance from 20-year-old Healy after he lost almost eight minutes yesterday.
Carpenter now leads overall by 22 seconds from Van Aert ahead of tomorrow's 18.2km TTT in Carmarthenshire, Wales. Hayter is 3rd at 26 seconds.
Townsend is best-placed of the Irish so far; sitting in 6th and among a group of 17 riders all 32 seconds off the race lead; Dan Martin among them in 21st place. Roche is 26th and is one of ten riders at 44 seconds. Healy is 63rd at 8:16 after losing time on the opening stage.
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