THE SEVENTH stage of the Tour of Britain took place in the Borders on Saturday – with thousands of spectators watching from along the route.

It began in Hawick and finished in Edinburgh.

And Belgian rider Yves Lampaert took his first victory at the end of the stage.

After the race he said: “It was quite nervy. There were three of us in the lead, so it’s always difficult to finish it off. But I took the wheel of Matt Gibson – I heard on the radio that he was quite fast. I did quite a long sprint I started at 250 [metres] to go and I held it to the line.

“I’m really happy. I’ve worked to make a lot of team victories but today I could finish it off for myself. That’s a huge relief. Every victory has a special place in my heart, and it’s not that I win every week, so I’m really happy.”

Ineos Grenadiers rider Ethan Hayter finished safely within the peloton to retain his overall lead and move to within a day of becoming the first British winner of the national tour in five years.

But he eventually lost out to Belgium's Wout van Aert in the final stage (Stonehaven to Aberdeen).