Bradley Wiggins goes into the time trial in the Tour of Britain with 47 seconds to make up on Dylan van Baarle. The defending champion admits that the overall win is probably beyond his reach and is more focused on a stage victory and a podium spot.

Bradley Wiggins remains seventh overall at the Tour of Britain following stage seven into Brighton but now sits 47 seconds off the race lead.

The Brit finished in the main chasing peloton after digging in over an undulating finale to cross the line alongside team-mate David Lopez and an elite group of rivals.

Yet an enthralling race produced another twist as the breakaway were again allowed to contest the stage victory, elevating Dylan van Baarle into a surprise race lead.

The young Dutchman (Garmin-Sharp) was third on the stage but finished with enough of an advantage to hand himself a 19-second lead going into the final pair of stages in London.

Van Baarle had been part of the day’s five-man move and for a third stage in succession it was a breakaway rider who claimed victory. Julien Vermote (Omega Pharma – Quick-Step) pushed onwards as the quintet hit the tough climb of Ditching Beacon and held on to win by 23 seconds.

Ignatas Konovalovas (MTN-Qhubeka) and van Baarle were next home, and with the group including Wiggins, Lopez and Michal Kwiatkowski finishing 1:20 back it was van Baarle who made the trip to the podium.

Overnight leader Alex Dowsett (Movistar) slipped back on the first of the two final climbs and despite chasing hard he dropped to 10th overall.

Wiggins will be going all out to move up the GC on the final day in London with an 8.8km time trial set to decide the race before a late-afternoon circuit race.

After the stage Wiggins reflected on his GC position and looked ahead to Sunday's time trial.

"[Taking the lead] is a big ask over 8.8 kilometres," he admitted. "But you never know with crashes and punctures - anything can happen. I think a podium is more realistic. At the end of the day it’s about going out there and trying to win the stage."

The defending champion also praised the huge crowds which came out to support the race, adding: "The crowd are really encouraging. We do so many races in Europe where you hardly see anyone on the road. From this morning all the way through the stage there were just lines of people. It’s great and it’s certainly changed over the last few years."