Despite picking up a valuable five seconds on stage 4 of the Tour of Britain, Tony Gallopin held back from stating his ambitions for the GC, insisting that a stage win remained his top priority.
The French all-rounder started the stage 6th overall, 1:08 down on overall leader Julien Vermote (Etixx Quickstep) but picked up two seconds at the first intermediate sprint before gobbling up three more at the final intermediate sprint.
Five seconds may not seem all-important at this stage but they were enough to move him up the overall two places to fourth and tied for a place on the provisional podium along with Ben Swift.
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"I took some bonus seconds but I was just in a good position in the peloton. Then I tried on the climbs but that was just to test the legs and then to try and make the race harder for my sprinter Jens Debusschere," a relaxed Gallopin told Cyclingnews at the end of the stage.
The nature of the Tour of Britain, with the six-man teams, deceptively punishing terrain, and aggressive racing, combine to create an air of unpredictability within the race. The action and the outcomes can flip at any moment, although the uphill finish to Haytor and individual time trial at the weekend appear the most crucial stages remaining for the GC honours.
"I'm not really here for the overall. First it's about winning a stage. I see that I'm in the same time for the GC as some of the riders like Rohan Dennis and Tom Dumoulin, but if I stay like this it will be hard to beat them with the time trial. If I can get 20 seconds on them in GC then it's not to bad but I will do my best. It's going to be hard to beat Cummings and Vermote for the victory."
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