“The guys were fantastic today,” Farrar said after the stage.

“It was a super hectic finishing circuit, but the guys rode great and kept me out of trouble. It’s been a long wait for a European victory so it’s a big relief to finally get that monkey off my back this season.”

Farrar had a lot of success across the Atlantic at the Tour of California but was still searching for a European victory.

But it was only a matter of time before the win would come, especially after two top-5 results in the previous two stages.

The win pulls him up to third on the overall, only seven second down, heading into the final stage.