Despite his continued efforts to take a fourth victory to his 2015 season still being neglected, Juanjo Lobato saw his constance to perform in the final races of the season and seek for stage success in the Tour of Britain rewarded, as he took over the leader's jersey following stage three, a long, 216km trek from Cockermouth to Kelso in Scotland.

After a convincing 2nd place on Monday, taking two seconds on the whole peloton behind escapee Petr Vakoc (EQS), Movistar Team put efforts on the front of the field together with Etixx to catch a six-man breakaway which wasn't caught until the final 3km. Just before that 'safety zone', the race leader suffered a crash which, combined with Lobato's second spot behind Viviani (SKY), brought him to the lead with a 10-second margin over Boasson Hagen (MTN).

The squad directed by José Luis Jaimerena will try to defend Lobato's yellow tomorrow in another long day (217km), though relatively easier through Scotland, before the GC is defined on Thursday's mountain-top finish in Hartside.

"I'm really satisfied to see my form slowly but steadily building up. Ten days ago, I didn't have the legs to even try and get myself into the sprints, and my body is now responding well, precisely when I wanted it to. It was a goal for me to be strong at the end of the season, looking towards the World Championships (he was confirmed today as one of 14 riders in the Spanish national team long-list, ed.) and I'm achieving that form.

"Yesterday's was a stage I had marked down on my calendar as one I could contest, and it was really awful the peloton didn't come together at the finish, but as we say in the team, sometimes you win and sometimes you learn. I felt a little bit more tired today, on a flatter finish; when I got to Viviani's wheel, with 400m to go, I was lacking some strength and couldn't get past him.

“He’s won twice now, but nobody is unbeatable. There’s no doubt that Viviani can be defeated.

"I came here to win a stage and don't really look at any classifications at the moment; there are some chances for me in the upcoming days and I really hope to win some stages.

“I think my first objective is to try to win a stage and if I can stay in the yellow jersey, then all the better. I don’t want to give the impression that I’m not so interested in the yellow jersey. It’s more that I’m taking the race day by day. If I can stay in contention each day there are time bonuses available on the line and that will suit me.”