Standing under the canopy of her team van as the rain clattered down, there was a laughter as Team Veloconcept’s remaining riders did their morning radio checks, so I had a quick chat with Sweden’s Sara Penton who came home eighth in the sprint at Royal Leamington Spa on stage three.

“I am really happy because I got my first World Tour top ten yesterday, so it is great for me and great for the team as we got World Tour points.

The other girls did a really good job helping me early in the stage and this helped to get me to the finish in the main group and then I could just sneak in amongst the big guns and do my sprint.”

What will this result do for you? I was here two years ago when Lotta Lepisto had a big breakthrough and you could almost see her belief grow in that moment.

“It’s definitely going to mean a lot more confidence. I got a great result against some of the best riders in the world, so now I really know I can compete in races like this against the top riders. I know I can have a place here.”

How will today’s stage pan out? Will the bunch let a break go to the finish because they know there will be a big chance for a sprint in London tomorrow?

“I think that a break or a couple of breaks will go, for sure. The girls that are far back in the classification will definitely try to get away and the peloton will let them, but there are still a lot of big teams that have a lot of riders who will try to bring it back so I think maybe there will be a sprint but with a bunch that’s not so big. Even though some teams have lost riders there is still a lot to win, and a lot of teams will try to bring things together at the finish.”

Will the weather make things harder?

“Actually, it could make things easier in some ways. When the weather is like this (and it was lashing down at this point), it’s hard to see sometimes, to see your line. So if a break goes away then it become safer because everything calms down in the peloton, and everyone feels safer. And also, if you’re up front in an escape, it is much easier to stay safe because you can see what is happening. But I would definitely like it not to be this wet!”

So, you had a great sprint on a tough day yesterday. Today, we have over 2000 meters of ascent …

“I would have preferred it if you didn’t tell me that! It is going to be a hard day again, and we are all tired already. It’s not big mountains but it isn’t flat either. So we will se how I go today.”