Chris Froome said it is too early to write off Alberto Contador and Richie Porte as contenders for Tour de France victory despite the pair suffering heavy time losses on stage two.
Contador lost 48 seconds to Froome and Nairo Quintana after suffering from the effects of two crashes in two days on the climb to the finish in Cherbourg, while Porte lost 1min 45sec following a late puncture.
Both riders are now playing catch-up in the general classification, but Froome believes they can recover.
He said: "It's unfortunate for Alberto and Richie, but it goes with the territory in these kind of stages.
"That's why we really try to make a big effort to be up front. Guys like Ian Stannard and Luke Rowe are up there protecting me on days like these and keeping me at the front to give me the best chance to stay out of trouble and out of harm's way.
"Those are pretty significant gaps, but it's too early to rule anyone out of contention. The Tour will be won and lost by minutes sometimes, so these gaps are still insignificant."
While Contador and Porte suffered, Froome issued a strong statement about his form by finishing 10th on stage two, which leaves him 14 seconds down on new race leader Peter Sagan in fifth overall.
Froome added: "My main objective was to stay out of trouble and stretch my legs. I think we can tick that box, and thankfully, there were no major issues.
"I felt all right coming into the finish. The legs feel good. Let's see. We're still a few days away from the big mountains, but for now everything is feeling like it should."
The Tour continues on Monday with a 223.5km third stage from Granville to Angers that should end in a sprint. Find our more about the route in our race guide and follow all the action with our live blog from 1pm BST.