Cycling
Tour of Britain 2026 Stage 4-5 Best Bets: Helmsely to Earlston
Stages 4 and 5 of the 2026 Tour of Britain bring the race to its climax, and William Hill News are on hand to preview how the final two days might unfold.
Benoît Cosnefroy heads into the weekend as the man to beat overall, with Filippo Ganna and Jasper Stuyven among those capable of springing a surprise as the race reaches its most decisive stretch.
Stage Overview: Stage 4 – Helmsley to Leyburn (165.8km)
The toughest stage of the race packs 2,699 metres of climbing into the run from the North York Moors into the Yorkshire Dales. Greenhow Bank opens the hostilities before Kidstones and a steep drag to Redmire, then Grinton Moor arrives with just under 20km to go. A gentle uphill finish in Leyburn should suit the puncheurs rather than the pure sprinters.
Benoît Cosnefroy
Cosnefroy looks the most natural fit for a stage built on repeated hard climbs rather than one long haul. His form through the punchier one-day races this season has been excellent, and UAE Team Emirates XRG will look to isolate the sprinters’ teams early on Grinton Moor. With Jhonatan Narváez also in the mix, the French rider has strong support to make his move stick into Leyburn.
Prediction: Benoît Cosnefroy to win Stage 4.
Maximilian Schachmann
Schachmann has built his season around exactly this kind of terrain, and a rolling, technical finish plays to his strengths as a rider capable of surviving the climbs and finishing fast. Aurélien Paret-Peintre offers a similar profile for the watching public, but Schachmann’s experience in bunch reductions gives him the edge for the podium.
Prediction: Maximilian Schachmann for a top three finish.
Stage Overview: Stage 5 – Earlston to Earlston (156.1km)
The finale loops out through Smailholm, Kelso, Hume, Greenlaw and Duns before the Lammermuir Hills serve up the day’s hardest work at Redstone Rig and Duddy Bank, all well before the finish. Two laps of a 19km circuit back in Earlston follow, meaning the steepest work comes early and a reduced group could contest the final sprint.
Filippo Ganna
Ganna lacks the time trial he’d want to defend a GC position, but a stage where the climbing is done and dusted with over 40km still to race suits his engine on the flat run home. If the group stays together, his raw power could prove decisive.
Prediction: Filippo Ganna for a podium finish.
Jasper Stuyven
Stuyven has the profile of a rider who thrives when the legs are tired but the finish still rewards positioning. A reduced bunch on the closing Earlston circuit is exactly the kind of finale he has built a career on.
Prediction: Jasper Stuyven to finish inside the top three.
