Tour of Britain Stage 4 – In Pictures

Bradley Wiggins waits at the start line in Stoke-on-Trent with a tough day ahead of him. The stage climbs the Pen-Y-Pass shortly before the finish in Llanberis – making it a launchpad for potential attacks. Photograph: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

Nairo Quintana on the startline – a potential stage winner if he can find the legs to attack on the final climb and stay away to the finish. Photograph: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

Team Sky and Olympic Team GB mastermind Sir Dave Brailsford waits for the start of the race. Photograph: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

Sir Bradley's custom decal on the front of his powermeter – a piece of kit that kicked up a fair bit of controversy last year as Team Sky's reliance on them was deemed to take the attacking panache out of the sport. Photograph: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

Meanwhile, on the Pen-y-Pass (a popular starting point for the ascent of Mount Snowdon), fans await the arrival of the peloton. Photograph: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

Welsh fans proudly display their heritage at the roadside. Photograph: Tim Ireland/PA

As the fans find their vantage points, the sun breaks through the clouds in what will probably be the first dry day of the race. Photograph: Tim Ireland/PA

Bradley Wiggins (R) and Mark Cavendish (L) make their way over a bridge in Llanrwst Photograph: Simon Stacpoole/Simon Stacpoole / Offside

Just as it looked like the breakaway were going to go clear (visible in the top left of the photo), a series of accelerations from the main field saw their lead cut substantially. Photograph: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

Ireland's Dan Martin (right) was the first to attack. Once Wiggins and Quintana had chased him down and brought him back to the bunch, Martin's Garmin-Sharp teammate Jack Bauer – a danger man lying just 55 seconds down on Wiggins on GC – attacked over the top of the pass. Photograph: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

Here's Wiggins approaching the top of Pen-Y-Pass with the Snowdon Massif in the background. The race ended with a sprint-finish in which Cavendish won from the Italian Elia Viviani, with Wiggins retaining his overall lead. Photograph: Tim Ireland/PA