Saturday 9 July 2016 07:21, UK
Steve Cummings insisted his victory on stage seven of the Tour de France was not motivated by the disappointment of missing out on a place in Britain’s team for next month’s Olympic Games.
The 35-year-old claimed the second Tour stage win of his career with a superb 27km solo attack out of the day's breakaway.
It was the fourth victory of an outstanding 2016 season, but Cummings' form was not enough to earn him a place in Britain's five-man line-up for the men's road race at Rio 2016.
Cummings, who has angrily criticised selectors over his omission, said: "I haven't wanted to prove anything with regards to my non-selection for the Olympic Games.
"After the disappointment, I moved on to the next chapter. The Tour de France is the biggest show. It's the biggest race on Earth. It's bigger for a cyclist than the Olympics."
Cummings launched his decisive attack on a flat section and then unexpectedly pulled away from chasers such as Vincenzo Nibali and Daniel Navarro on the category-one climb of the Col d'Aspin, before eventually winning by 1min 5sec in Lac de Payolle.
Cummings admitted afterwards he didn't realise he was climbing the Aspin so well.
"I felt horrible uphill today," he added. "I was worried that Nibali would pass me like Marco Pantani and I wouldn't be able to hold his wheel. But I committed to my decision to ride my tempo till the end."
The Tour continues on Saturday with a 184km mountain stage from Pau to Bagneres-de-Luchon. Find out more about the route in our race guide and follow the stage with our live blog from 12pm BST.
