Double Olympic champion Geraint Thomas is not getting ahead of himself despite shining on the opening mountain stage of the Giro d’Italia and moving up to second overall.
Stage four was a 181km route that ended on Mount Etna, with the Welshman finishing third on the stage with his Rio 2016 Team GB colleague Adam Yates coming home eighth, in the same time as Thomas.
Slovenia’s Jan Polanc, of UAE Team Emirates, won the stage, finishing 19 seconds ahead of Katusha’s Ilnur Zakarin, with Thomas winning the sprint for third place a further ten seconds back.
The result means Team Sky’s Thomas moves up to second in the overall standings, behind Quick-Step Floors’ Bob Jungels, just six seconds behind the Luxembourger.
Yates, of Orica-Scott, slots in behind Thomas in third place, four seconds down on the 2008 and 2012 Olympic team pursuit champion.
But after just four of 21 stages, Thomas is staying calm ahead of bigger tests to come.
"There was a bit of a headwind in the last 2km so everyone was a bit of apprehensive,” said the 30-year-old.
“I felt good and obviously it was nice to win the sprint for the third [place] and get a few seconds as well.
"I felt pretty good on the climb but, with it being a headwind, everyone like myself didn't really want to go too early.
"I think everyone's still finding their legs and sussing each other out but a good start.
"It's a nice sort of psychological boost winning the sprint but there's still a long way to go until Milan [the final stage], and we'll know a lot more on Sunday."
Sportsbeat 2017