Team Sky's Bradley Wiggins said that a modest climb to the line on Stage 4 was made fiendish by the difficult weather conditions.

"It's probably not much of a climb if you do it in training," Wiggins admitted. "But the way the stage was today with the wet, everyone's nervous, it's windy, and at the end of 170km it's tough."

But despite the arduous stage the Brit said it would have no bearing on his challenge for the yellow jersey.

"I conceded a few seconds at the top there but in three weeks time it's not going to make any difference," he said.

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