Alex Dowsett has told Cyclingnews that he was shocked to learn that he had made the Movistar team for the Tour de France.

"I'm shocked to be here, to be honest. I knew it was going to be extremely tough to turn things around after the hour record, and it was. When I didn't finish the Dauphiné I'd pretty much written off my own chances of getting selected."

After a disappointing time trial where he only managed 13th, 36 seconds down on winner Rohan Dennis, Dowsett says his sole focus is now to keep Nairo Quintana safe.

"The fact that I can do a good job in looking after riders when things start getting hectic either before a finish or at the start of a climb, for example, is the only reason I'm here.