An Post Sean Kelly rider Gediminas Bagdonas produced a gutsy ride from the front to take the seventh stage of the Tour of Britain on Saturday.
The 25-year-old Rás winner went clear with five riders after only 15 kilometres of the 200k stage between Bury St Edmunds and Sandringham and the group forged on to build up a seven-minute lead.
The peloton attempted to chase down the breakaway but they were not to be caught and it came down to a shootout between the six riders, who all attempted to get away in the final kilometres.
Bagdonas countered every time and when it came down to the sprint he prevailed in a tight finish ahead of Ian Wilkinson.
Meanwhile, Lars Boom is confident of completing a Tour of Britain triumph on Sunday after protecting his 28-second advantage on stage seven.
The Dutch Rabobank rider heads the general classification after today’s stage and the event comes to a climax in London, with a morning individual time trial and an afternoon circuit race.
Boom finished in the peloton today, meaning he gave up no ground to his rivals, with Germany's Leopold Koenig, for Team NetApp, remaining in second place.
Britain's Daniel Lloyd, for the Garmin-Cervelo team, stayed just a second behind Koenig, with another German in Linus Gerdemann (Leopard Trek) in fourth and Briton Steve Cummings (Team Sky) in fifth.
Mark Cavendish finished down in seventh place.
Twenty-five-year-old Boom said: "Another long day tomorrow but I am confident for the time trial and criterium tomorrow.
"This is a lovely place, it's my first time in the UK and I think it's great.
"I am trying my best to win The Tour of Britain and will do my best tomorrow."
