Defending champion Chris Froome admits he is quietly content after ending the British leg of the Tour de France well positioned in fifth place in the general classification.
While Marcel Kittel has hit the headlines with two stages victories, the including the sprint finish in London, Froome and Team Sky have silently gone about their business in the UK.
Wet weather greeted the peloton in the capital but Vasil Kiryienka piloted Froome into position before Bernhard Eisel and Geraint Thomas ensured all three finished behind the bunch sprint.
Vincenzo Nibali, winner of stage two in Sheffield, finished on the wheel of Froome to keep the yellow jersey with stage four the first in France and the longest so far at 222km.
Froome, who ensured the yellow jersey remained in British hands last year after Sir Bradley Wiggins’ win in 2012, is currently fifth place two seconds behind Nibali and cautiously optimistic ahead of the rest of the Tour.
“It was a tough stage there in the final and tricky coming into London. There was a lot of road furniture but again there were just massive, massive crowds out there,” said Froome.
“We did get a little bit wet in the final but I suppose it wouldn’t have been a British start without a bit of rain.
“The big thing was to just get through the stage – don’t lose any time and hopefully don’t have any incidents along the way.
“It was a good day for us and we’re three days into the Tour now. It’s quite a good feeling.
“I think we can expect a day pretty similar – another case of just getting through it – but on stage five we hit the cobbles and that’s definitely going to be quite a shake-up. Literally.”
© Sportsbeat 2014