Chris Lawless hands INEOS first win in Tour de Yorkshire

Chris Lawless handed Team INEOS its first victory as he won the Tour de Yorkshire in Leeds on Sunday.

Just a few days after the launch of the outfit formerly known as Team Sky, following a takeover by Britain’s richest man Jim Ratcliffe, Lawless hung on in the fourth and final stage to claim the biggest prize of his career.

Lawless had the backing of four-times Tour de France winner Chris Froome as the peloton headed into Leeds after a tough day of climbing in the Yorkshire Dales.

Olympic champion Greg van Avermaet attacked on the final climb of the day but Lawless would not be dropped and although Van Avermaet won the stage, Lawless took the overall victory with a slender advantage of two seconds.

“Chris really had the legs to go with Greg in the final, which won us the race overall, so really proud of him,” Froome said. “For a start for INEOS we could have not asked for much more really.”

Froome said he was happy with his own form.

“It’s getting better and better,” Froome said at the finish. “Still got a long way to go and some hard work ahead of me but that’s normal.”

Large crowds again lined the roads for the 182-km ride from Halifax to Leeds — many of whom will return when the road world championships is held in Yorkshire late this year.

“If someone had told me that I’d win this race when I was coming into it, I’d have called them a bare-faced liar,” said Lawless after the stage. “I didn’t think it was possible.

“I’ve got to really thank the team for having faith in me and backing me because I don’t really have a good history of performing on courses like this.

“When Greg went on the climb with 5km to go, we already had Eddie up the road and I knew I just had to follow. As soon as we got there, I told Eddie to ride because I knew even if I got second on the stage and Greg won then I’d still win.”

Tour de Yorkshire 2019 – stage 4 results (Halifax – Leeds):

Tour de Yorkshire 2019 – final general classification: