Belgium’s Tim Wellens won the 2026 Tour of Britain as Nils Politt claimed victory on stage five.

Wellens began the day with a 21 second lead over Great Britain’s Lewis Askey and extended that to 42 seconds as he finished eighth, 21 seconds behind German Politt, on the final stage.

Askey finished 40 seconds adrift of Wellens on the 156.1km run through Earlston but managed to hold on to second place, with Belgium’s Jasper Stuyven 21 seconds behind him in third place.

Great Britain’s Elliot Rowe ended the event in sixth place, with compatriots Mark Donovan in ninth and Ben Wiggins in 10th.

Prior to the start of the stage, the riders gave Briton Ben Swift a guard of honour as the 38-year-old recently announced he will retire at the end of the 2026 season.

Politt launched an attack with just under nine kilometres to go and saw off Wiggins before going on to win his first stage since 2022.