Astana rider Lieuwe Westra says that Astana will not just give up the Yellow Jersey to a non-General Classification rider despite claims they will to ease the pressure on their team this early in the race.

 Nibali leads by 2 seconds and should he win overall, then the team would have had to defend the jersey for 19 of the 21 stages, an exceptional amount of work for the other 8 Astana riders.

"It will not be a problem if we lose it, but at the moment we will stay there and it is always good," he told Cyclingnews at the start of stage three.

Nibali struggled in the early part of the season and even Astana general manager Alexandre Vinokourov openly criticized him. But things have now changed, with Nibali winning his national road race last weekend before taking his first win in the jersey in Sheffield as well as the overall lead.

"It’s good for Astana, he’s in good shape," said Westra. "I’ve followed him now for a few months and I can see him, step by step, getting better. At the last training camp after Dauphiné, he was impressive in training. For me, it’s not a surprise because I think that he is a good man for the podium for the moment."

Nibali may have to relinquish the jersey tomorrow anyway on the cobbles of Northern France as specialists like Peter Sagan, Greg van Avermaet and Michal Kwiatkowski are in the group that are 2 seconds behind him. But there is nothing to suggest Nibali cant gain more time on the likes of Froome, Valverde, Mollema and Contador.