Tour of Britain: Jumbo-Visma rues loss of Harper ahead of crucial team time trial

BODMIN ENGLAND SEPTEMBER 05 Wout Van Aert of Belgium George Bennett of New Zealand Chris Harper of Australia Pascal Eenkhoorn of Netherlands Gijs Leemreize of Netherlands Tony Martin of Germany and Team Jumbo Visma during the team presentation prior to the 17th Tour of Britain 2021 Stage 1 a 1808km stage from Penzance to Bodmin TourofBritain TourofBritain on September 05 2021 in Bodmin England Photo by Harry TrumpGetty Images
The team which lined up at the start of the Tour of Britain is now without the rider on the far left, Chris Harper (Image credit: Getty Images Sport)

Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) not only lost the blue jersey of the leader at the Tour of Britain on stage 2 but also a valuable teammate to help in the battle to reclaim it, with Australian rider Chris Harper crashing early in the 183.9-kilometre hilly stage from Sherford to Exeter.

The loss of Harper, who had his elbow stitched up in hospital following the crash, leaves the team one man down heading into the crucial hilly 18.2 kilometre stage 3 team time trial, with the course from Llandeilo to the National Botanic Garden of Wales expected to provide a major GC shake-up.

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