Cycling: Crowds flock to salute king of Norway

Photo: www.highroadsports.com / Team Columbia-HTC.

Edvald Boasson Hagen sealed overall victory in the eight-day Tour of Britain that ended in front of huge crowds in central London on Sept. 19. It was Columbia-HTC’s 82nd win of the 2009 season.

The 22-year-old Norwegian finished safely in the peloton at the end of the final 92km stage. He won overall by 23 seconds after taking four of the eight stages. Australia’s Chris Sutton finished second and Germany’s Martin Reimer was third. Italy’s Michele Merlo won the final stage in a sprint.

Boasson Hagen is currently ranked the No 3 rider in the world and will compete for the new British Team Sky squad in 2010. They feel they have signed the most talented rider in the sport.

“It’s really good to win this race after all the hard work by the team. I’m really happy for me and for them,” Boasson Hagen said. “This is my second stage race win this year. I didn’t expect to win four stages and so it’s been a fantastic week. It was amazing to win in the centre of London because there were huge crowds.”

Source: Team Columbia-HTC / Independent.co.uk