Bradley Wiggins out of Tour of Britain as Tiernan-Locke takes lead

Good things come in threes and this was a Friday to remember for Jonathan Tiernan-Locke. The pocket-sized Devonian climber dominated the finale of the toughest stage of the Tour of Britain and took the race leader's jersey in Caerphilly, precisely where he was expected to do so, putting himself in with a strong chance of becoming the first British winner of the relaunched event. All this came on the day he was named in the Great Britain squad for next week's world championships.

Bradley Wiggins is also part of that squad and should be able to race in the Netherlands despite withdrawing from the Tour of Britain on Friday with a stomach upset, unless it is combined with end-of-year-itis, the battle fatigue which afflicts top-level cyclists in mid to late September. He has returned home to rest.

Tiernan-Locke, a former mountain biker, could well be the best British climbing prospect since the legendary Robert Millar back in the 1980s, with the fluent pedalling style and punch on a climb that is the hallmark of the pure grimpeur. All through the first five stages of the Tour of Britain he and his team-mates at the British squad Endura Racing had been visibly waiting for their moment, pushing hard to make sure he was in every split in the field that mattered.

Even before the race descended to the valleys the Devonian was prominent in an 11-rider split that formed high on the windswept Brecon Beacons, including most of the strongest names, before the race briefly regrouped. The twin climbs of Caerphilly mountain close to the stage finish were perfectly suited to his talents and he duly sprang clear of the field, surging past the remains of the day's escape, which included, for a courageous fourth day out of six, the Rapha-Costa-Condor leader Kristian House.

House has spent the week out ahead of the pack chasing points for the King of the Mountains prize, and has it almost in the bag, but he would be the first to admit he is not the best climber in the race. That honour, clearly, belongs to Tiernan-Locke; when he made his initial effort the field was shredded, although he was joined by the German Leopold König from the NetApp team as they rode through Caerphilly to approach the climb for the second time.

Tiernan-Locke did the bulk of the pacemaking en route to the finish line next to the castle, where König took the honours but critically the overnight race leader, Leigh Howard of Australia, was not in the first chase group. That means the Endura leader will have a 13sec advantage when he rides through his native Devon, from Barnstaple to Dartmouth via Okehampton, Tavistock and Dartmoor on Saturday.

"I was just relieved to get across the line with a gap," said Tiernan-Locke. "I'll try not to let the lead go now; the finish in Dartmouth is like today, with a couple of late climbs, so it's more of the same." Sunday's stage into Guildford is equally tough so, if his Endura team-mates are up to the task – and the German Paul Voss has been looking particularly strong – he will be in a good position.

Tiernan-Locke was not the only Briton with a ticket to the world championships to show promising form in Wales. The local lad Luke Rowe figured in the elite chase group as the peloton was whittled down on the second climb of the mountain behind the leading pair, while also in the same split were two of the under-23 riders who will travel to Holland, Josh Edmondson and Simon Yates.

Mark Cavendish will go to the Netherlands to defend his title on a course which looks too hilly for him to shine.

The Great Britain coach, Rod Ellingworth, told the Guardian that in his view either Wiggins or Chris Froome could shine on the hilly course near Maastricht. However, with moves afoot to bring the world championships to Britain in coming years, he sees next week more as a chance for the younger generation – Rowe, Ben Swift, Ian Stannard, Tiernan-Locke – to begin to find their feet for the future.

"The whole priority this year for us and the riders was the Olympic Games. It was such a big hit for everyone that it's a huge ask to expect the senior guys to come here and be competitive again."

Great Britain squad (for the road world championships in Limburg, Netherlands, 15-23 September): Elite men – road race Mark Cavendish, Steve Cummings, Alex Dowsett, Chris Froome, Luke Rowe, Ian Stannard, Ben Swift, Jon Tiernan-Locke, Bradley Wiggins. Elite men – time trial Dowsett, Froome. Elite women – road race Lizzie Armitstead, Katie Colclough, Nicole Cooke, Nikki Harris, Sharon Laws, Emma Pooley. Elite women – time trial Wendy Houvenaghel, Pooley