It is a well-known fact that despite flying the British flag and being born in Hereford, Simon Carr (EF Education - Easy Post) feels the same way about his native France. And while it may be difficult to quantify how that has affected the 25-year-old's racing career, Carr summed it up perfectly after winning stage 4 of the Tour of the Alps.

"I think it's a good mix of the British scientific view of cycling and the French culture of old-fashioned swagger and attack," Kerr said at the post-race press conference.

"For me, I think cycling has changed quite a bit, it's a bit more data-driven and more structured. 5]

"From my point of view, I actually grew up in France, so I never experienced a system like that, but at the end of the day, it still comes down to a lot of mental skills and resilience and it's not something you can see on a computer, so I I think we have a mix."

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Carr, along with teammate Hugh Carthy, initiated an early breakaway, then took his time and attacked with calculated timing, distancing himself from Sergio Iguita and soloing 45 km to the Borgo Valsgana finish.

This brave move was all the more impressive considering how disappointed Kerr had been in the first three days of racing in Italy and Austria. He originally came to the five-day race to challenge for GC before heading to the Giro d'Italia, but had failed to finish in the top 80 on any stage before winning today.

"When I came here I wanted to do well in the GC, so I stayed at altitude for three weeks and my girlfriend took care of the cooking and everything," he said.

"Then when I arrived I felt like I was the worst athlete in the group for most of the first two days.

Kerr, who on Thursday broke the record for the longest breakaway win in the Tour of the Alps (a record he held until last year), was beginning to question whether he was really where he should be before his third Giro d'Italia appearance.

"I had a lot of doubts about whether I was still fit.

Kerr showed his Welsh roots by thanking the cold and rain that fell during both the third stage of the Tour de Alps and La Flèche Wallonne.

"I think the rain yesterday helped me," he said. 'In the right circumstances I could have had a good GC here, but it didn't happen, so I'm really happy with the stage win.'