Having been very tired at the end of the Tour de France, Michal Kwiatkowski has returned to form in time for the Worlds. Today he finished off excellent Omega Pharma-Quick Step teamwork by finishing seconds in the Tour of Britain queen stage.

Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team set up Michal Kwiatkowski for a top finish on the summit finish of The Tumble (Category 1) at 179.9km Tour of Britain Stage 3 on Tuesday. Michal Golas paced his fellow Polish teammate as the peloton hit the final climb. OPQS had already worked all day in front in support of the race leader Mark Renshaw, bringing back an original breakaway with 7km to go.

However, it was Edoardo Zardini (Bardiani - CSF) who made the most out of the final climb. He had attacked along with Jack Bauer (Garmin-Sharp) with less than 4km to go, and Zardini eventually went solo with 2.7km to go.

Nicholas Roche (Tinkoff-Saxo) caught Zardini with about 2km to go, and tried to drop the Italian rider. But it was Zardini who came back to pass Roche and go on for the solo victory. Kwiatkowski, meanwhile, paced himself back with a select group of riders. He was able to catch Roche and take 2nd in the final meters of the stage.

Kwiatkowski finished 9" down on Zardini, and is now 2nd in the GC (+13"). Zardini now wears the leader's jersey as the race heads into Stage 4, a lumpy 184.6km parcours from Worcester to Bristol, on Wednesday.

"I want to say thank you to the whole team," Kwiatkowski said. "Mark Renshaw had the leader's jersey so of course we had to control the race for him. We were happy to do that.

"My teammates, such as Michal Golas, also worked to set me up so I could finish well on the uphill finish, so their work was immense today. Julien Vermote, Niki Terpstra, and Mark Cavendish really worked hard in the front. They were really strong and motivated, which gave me extra energy I needed today. You could see our team always on the front, which means we believe we can win and we showed team spirit. It was amazing, and I really have to say this 2nd place is because of their hard work.

"It was not an easy climb in the final, it was really steep. We tried to set a high tempo with Sky. You could see guys were dropping from the group. I was trying to go and escape, but everybody reacted to my move. In one moment Roche and Zardini went and nobody wanted to catch them. We played a game in the last two or three kilometers.

"I knew I could finish well with 300 or 400 meters to go, do my maximum effort and see what happens. I happened to finish 2nd so I am happy.

"I'm thrilled my condition is there. I was motivated in September. I started with GP Ouest France - Plouay and built my condition for Tour of Britain. From the start, when the whole team rides for you, you have to finish well to honor their effort and I did that. Now we must look to the next days.

"We always come to races to do well, not just to train. We will work every day to be in the front in the upcoming stages and see what can happen. Tour of Britain is tricky. There are small roads, always up and down. You have to always stay focused. The second-to-last stage, the time trial in London, will be important for the GC and we'll see what I can do that day, wherever I am in the overall classification."