Ben Swift insists Team Sky and Sir Bradley Wiggins remain in the hunt for glory at the Tour of Britain despite seeing Italian Edoardo Zardini claim victory in stage three and with it the overall leader's yellow jersey.
Nicholas Roche and Zardini were locked in a battle for the line, one the Italian edged to pick up a fine victory, with Roche eventually coming third, 11 seconds back with Pole Michal Kwiatkowski taking second place.
However there was still plenty for the home fans to celebrate as Mark McNally extended his lead in the King of the Mountain competition, while Swift still leads the points competition.
Team Sky’s Wiggins limited his losses on the steep finish outside Abergavenny, after being dropped from the chasing group.
He crossed the line fifth to move from ten to 24 seconds off the top in the general classification, which sees Zardini 13 seconds clear of second-placed Kwiatkowski.
And teammate Swift is adamant reigning Olympic time trial champion Wiggins will continue to battle it out for Tour of Britain success.
“We wanted to keep Bradley in contention and limit our losses," said Swift, speaking to Team Sky. "We all rode well together. There was a bit of a hectic run into bottom of The Tumble and we lost each other a bit, but Bradley did a great job.
“It’s going to be tough but after the queen stage here it should return to a more regular format of the yellow jersey team controlling the race. Omega Pharma-Quick Step did a great job today. We’ll just stick together as a unit.”
© Sportsbeat 2014