Team Sky rider and GC favourite Bradley Wiggins said he was due some luck after his team's decision to push him to the front of the peloton caused him to avoid a crash on Stage 5.
"It wasn't necessarily about placing Cav, but also myself," Wiggins told ITV's Matt Rendell after he was asked why Sky had decided to ride more aggressively as a unit, in contrast to previous stages so far.
"I was due a bit of luck...I've been caught up in the mess over the last few days," he said. "It was nice for me to hit the front and open up a little bit."
And Wiggins added that, given the injury he sustained in a crash in the peloton last year, surviving another tricky day in the peloton this time around was a boost.
"You soon realise who your friends are when you crash at the Tour de France and the race carries on the next day," Wiggins wryly noted.
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