Nuyens faces important test

Tour of Britain race leader Nick Nuyens heads into today's race against the clock with a seven second buffer, but knows that a strong performance is crucial. "The time trial will be very important," he said. "We have to make some decisions before it. The circuit is very technical, so maybe it is better go with a normal bike. I don't know. We will see tomorrow. I will try my best but if Michael [Rogers] wins, that is okay too. And if I keep the jersey it is even better! The main goal is to win the jersey. If we can win the stage, it is even better for the team.

"My main goal coming here was to take a stage. I wanted to win again. After I took the first stage I thought that there was a good chance to keep the jersey for a while. Now I want to win the general classification and also the time trial, if it is possible. But it is not that easy, we will see."

If Nuyens is still in yellow this evening, he will just have the concluding criterium on Sunday to get through. A change to the overall classification is unlikely there, but he is still cautious. "If I have the yellow jersey after the time trial, I will still not be assured of victory," he said. "You can never be sure until it is over. But if I can take some more time tomorrow, it looks very good for my chances because Blaudzun is not that fast on the type of circuit we will use on Sunday. That said, you can never be sure until the final kilometres of the race."