Danny Van Poppel ends Jumbo-Visma's stage streak at Tour of Britain

Danny van Poppel ended Jumbo-Visma's stranglehold of the Tour of Britain to win stage six in Harlow.

Jumbo-Visma had triumphed in all previous stages, but their unbeaten streak came to an end on Friday when Bora-Hansgrohe’s Van Poppel denied rider Ethan Vernon a win on home turf.

Vernon, 23, who has now finished on the podium in the last four stages, briefly led in a wild sprint finish only for Van Poppel of the Netherlands to take the stage with a dramatic lunge for the line.

Uno-X Pro Cycling Team’s Tord Gudmestad finished third, one place ahead of four-time stage winner Olav Kooij.

Despite losing their 100% record, Visma’s Wout van Aert retained the overall lead after crossing the line in 17th.

The Belgian rider holds a three-second advantage over Vernon, Kooij and Van Poppel, with Ineos Grenadiers’ British rider Tom Pidcock in fifth ahead of Saturday’s 170.9-kilometre climb from Tewkesbury to Gloucester.

Rory Townsend (Bolton Equities Black Spoke) dropped 11 places to 25th after finishing among the back markers, 2'35 behind Van Poppel.

Ryan Mullen finished in the bunch and remains 59th while his Bora-Hansgrohe team-mate Sam Bennett was 40 seconds behind the leaders and is now 67th overall.