"There was a big chase to the sprint and a gap opened up. I went full gas to bring Vincenzo up to the group to prevent any time loss."

Those were the words of Astana's Andrei Grivko after stage seven at the Tour de France. Grivko and teammate Vincenzo Nibali finished in the same time as stage winner Mark Cavendish of Great Britain on a bright day in Bretagne, the wild heart of French cycling.

In the final 40km of the stage, as the sprinters' teams organized themselves to set a high pace and prepare for a mass finish, Astana Pro Team rode safely but conservatively in the peloton, avoiding extra physical effort in order to save energy for tomorrow's explosive finish at the Mur de Bretagne.

Grivko saw gaps open between riders in the peloton in the final 10km and quickly came to Nibali's side, escorting him through dangerous high-speed traffic islands and protecting the 2014 Tour de France champion from any possible obstacles.

Grivko sits 54th on General Classification, 13:25 behind race leader Chris Froome of Great Britain but the multiple Ukrainian National Champion in the road race and time trial is not here in France for his own achievement, but rather to escort Nibali across 21 days of racing to try for victory on the final podium in Paris.

Nibali moved up one spot in the overall classification on Friday, following the abandonment overnight of race leader and Yellow Jersey wearer Tony Martin of Germany. Froome assumes leadership duties ahead of Saturday's important uphill finish, featuring 2km of climbing with more than 500m of 10 percent gradient.