Vincenzo Nibali may have been the big winner in yesterday's stage of the Tour de France but he certainly couldn't have made his coup without the help from teammate Lieuwe Westra. The Dutchman is pleased with the outcome of his work and says he always believed in his captain's chances in the tricky stage.

Lars Boom and Vincenzo Nibali stole the glory in yesterday's stage of the Tour de France but the real hero was probably Lieuwe Westra. Having been on the attack all day, he still had enough left in the tank to lead the front group almost single-handedly for the final 30km and even ended the stage in 8th.

Unsurprisingly, he was awarded the red dossard as the most aggressive rider but he was more pleased with the time his captain Nibali had gained on his rivals.

“The plan from the morning was to go in the breakaway to take pressure off the team," he said. "We are here to support Vincenzo 150 percent, and in the cobbles it takes a team working together to have a good result.

“This has been a very good day for us. I was riding at the front for most of the stage. Then I've taken part in the work we had to do for Vincenzo. This is a good operation on GC. We can be happy with it.

"I knew Vincenzo could do something like that on the cobbles, simply because he's very strong. At the training camp, I've realized what he's able to do on a bike really. I knew he was going well for the Tour.”