BASILDON cyclist Russell Hampton is determined to hang on to his lead in the King of the Mountains competition right until the end of the Tour of Britain.
The 23-year-old, right, will wear the polka-dot jersey of the King of the Mountains leader during today’s fifth stage of the tour between Exeter and Exemouth, in Devon.
That is after he superbly defended his jersey during yesterday’s gruelling 183.7km stage, which featured two of the biggest climbs of the entire tour.
Hampton, who rides for the British team Sigma Sport–Specialized, tweeted after yesterday’s stage: “I’ve got the jersey for another day! Really don’t want to lose it now! Going to dig my heels in now!! I’m really proud of my team. They did a lot of work for me to make my life easier!”
The world champion Thor Hushovd, from Norway, won yesterday’s stage into Caerphilly, with the overall race leader Lars Boom finishing second and extending his lead in the process.
Hampton finished in 35th place, 20 seconds down and is up to 22nd in the overall classification.
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