Clacton-on-Sea, UK, Sep 7.- Dutchman Lars Boom (LottoNL-Jumbo) won the individual time trial stage in the 2017 Tour of Britain in Essex on Thursday to take the overall race lead.
The start list included many of the world's best time trial specialists, possibly the strongest selection of time triallists to battle it out on British roads since the 2012 London Olympics.
Due to the proximity of the Tour of Britain to the 2017 UCI Road World Championships, taking place in Norway at the end of the month, many riders were using the race as a pre-Worlds sharpener.
Boom now leads the race overall eight seconds ahead of Campenaerts, with Kiryienka in third at nine seconds. With bonus seconds at play on the finish line for the remaining three stages, there is still plenty of opportunity for the race lead to change hands.
The 2017 Tour of Britain continues on Friday with stage six, running from Newmarket to Aldeburgh over 187km. The race concludes in Cardiff, Wales, on Sunday September 10.