Chris Foome congratulated Tony Martin on winning the fourth stage of the 102nd Tour De France and taking over as leader in the race.
The Team Sky rider said to Eurosport's Juan Antonio Flecha: "At the end of the day it was more about the legs. When it got to the last sector of cobbles after 200 odd kilometres some guys started feeling it there but that was when I started to feel comfortable.
"I had G (Geraint Thomas) with me and he did a fantastic job, really strong and I said 'let's try it, lets push a little bit'. There was a little split but Saxo closed it down pretty quickly.
"Congratulations to Tony. He has been so close for a few days now and good for him for being in yellow.
"It is a perfect scenario for us. I think there is a lot of GC contenders who will give a big sigh of relief after today . Again, I have my team mates to thank. They have done a fantastic job. Richie Porte was fighting on in the first few sections, keeping us at the front and it was a really good day for us."