After his disappointing showing in the queen stage, Lars Petter Nordhaug felt better for today's stage of the Tour of Britain. Having been set up by his teammates, he was again unable to follow the best.

Belkin Pro Cycling TEAM rallied around Lars-Petter Nordhaug for the rising finale in the fourth stage at the 11th Tour of Britain. Nordhaug crossed the line 16th, six seconds behind stage-winner and new leader Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma-Quick Step). Bram Tankink climbed into 25th at 1:31 back to lead Belkin in the GC.

"It was a really hard stage. It was fast right from the start. A breakaway of nine riders went away, but we decided to save our strength for the finale because it was a short, but steep finish," said Belkin Sports Director Jan Boven. "Lars-Petter was feeling better than yesterday, but was not good enough to win. We will try again tomorrow."

Team Belkin made it safely through the 184.6km stage to Bristol. Sprinter Barry Markus was dropped on a late climb, and decided to save his legs for another day.
 

Tankink said he's riding into stronger condition, and hopes to make something happen in the coming days.

"It was a pretty hard stage today. There was a little climb in the end. Lars-Petter tried to go with Kwiatkowski, but he couldn't follow anymore. That was a pity. We managed to be in the group just behind," Tankink said. "The level here is really high. It's a hard race. There are a lot of good teams, and good riders. The British riders are very motivated for this race. I hoped to do better, but I can feel after the Tour and the Eneco Tour, that I am a little bit down. It's hard to keep with the best."
 

The 11th Britain tour continues Thursday with the 177.3km fifth stage to Exeter in yet another hilly, challenging stage.

"This is a hectic race," Boven said of the Tour of Britain. "The roads are narrow, then wide, it's always hilly. You're not climbing 2,000 metres, but you're always going up or down. Tomorrow is a little bit the same. We will see if we can get into a breakaway. It depends who is in the group. If it's a rider who is only down one minute on GC, the other teams will not let it go away. We will make a plan in the morning for what is best for the day."