Adam Yates insists he is feeling no pressure despite finding himself second overall after the first nine stages of the Tour de France.
The 23-year-old Orica-BikeExchange rider came into the Tour bidding to win individual stages, but after a superb first week, he is only 16 seconds behind race leader Chris Froome
It is a performance worthy of a future grand tour winner, but Bury-born Yates said his goals had not changed.
"There is no pressure," he said. "That's the thing: we just take it day by day and if we have the legs, we keep rolling with it. That's all there is to it."
Team Sky principal Sir Dave Brailsford said on Monday he hoped to see Yates commit himself to the general classification to see how far he could go and to learn for the future, but Yates said he would still choose a stage win over a top-five finish overall.
He added: "If you come in fifth in a grand tour, it's nice, but you don't get to raise your hands in the air and you don't celebrate.
"If you win a stage you go down in history as a Tour de France stage winner. I would prefer that than anything else."
Yates may simply be trying to keep the pressure off himself given that he is already exceeding expectations, but he handles every question about his objectives in the same straightforward manner.
"In Paris, if I am there, I am there," he said. "I am not losing time on purpose. I'm not just going to give it away, but if I have a bad day and lose a couple of minutes, it is what it is."
The Tour resumes on Tuesday with a 197km 10th stage from Escaldes Engordany to Revel. Find out more about the route in our race guide and follow the stage live with our live blog from 1pm BST.