STOCKTON'S Chris Newton insisted everything was going according to plan after he ended the first stage of the Tour of Britain in 10th place.

The Recycling.co.uk rider - who started the day in ninth, following Sunday's prologue - dropped a place in the rankings after completing the 86 mile stage from Reading to Southampton in 54th place.

Newton trails Mark Cavendish, who took the stage to add to his prologue win, by 20 seconds.

But the track specialist revealed he was more than happy with how things were progressing - especially with five stages of the 550 mile Tour to come.

"I've got plenty left in the tank and I'm pleased with how things have gone considering how tricky the stage was," said Newton. "There was no real pattern to the roads and being in and out of the New Forest with the wild animals and the cattle grids didn't help.

"We didn't want to get into any trouble and we knew it would finish with a sprint.

"It wasn't the day to be aggressive and go out in front but the longer stages in the rest of the week should suit us."

Newton's bid will be tested again today as the 102 riders race from Yeovil to Taunton in the 169km second stage, which includes three tough climbs in the final 50kms.

But after avoiding yesterday's crash that ended amongst others Barloworld rider Robbie Hunter's bid for the yellow jersey, the 33-year-old admitted sometimes simply staying in the saddle felt like a victory.

"There were a lot of nerves about for all of the riders and that made it difficult at times," added Newton.

"Everyone was braking hard at times and we only had the final 10 km's on the dual carriageway to push hard at the end."