Thomas Löfkvist is one of Team Sky's key men for the overall classification of the Tour de France, with the Swede in the team to provide backup for Bradley Wiggins, and to be the team's second man on GC.

And Löfkvist proved his value on Sunday's stage in the Alps , pacing Wiggins on the upper slopes of the climb to Morzine-Avoriaz, after the Englishman lost contact with the lead group close to the summit.

Together, the pair came in 18th and 19th, one minute, 45 seconds behind the winner, Andy Schleck. It means that Löfkvist now sits 18th, 3.30 down on the race leader, Cadel Evans, and handily placed ahead of Tuesday's second day in the Alps .

"It was a really hard day," said Löfkvist, speaking on the rest day in Morzine, after joining his teammates for a ride, and then having a relaxing afternoon.

"I think everybody struggled with the heat we've been having, but I was climbing fairly well, so I was able to catch Bradley [near the top of the Avoriaz climb] and we didn't lose too much time."

Löfkvist pointed to Saturday's stage in the Jura mountains , with a final climb that finished at Station des Rousses, as significant. This was a stage described beforehand as a "medium mountain" stage, with six climbs, but none tougher than a category two.

But Löfkvist pointed out - as many others have - that it was a far tougher stage than had been anticipated. "The roads were melting, it was so hot," he said. "It was actually a really, really hard stage.

"Some people cope with the heat better than others," he continued. "I'm not a big fan of it - it's not really my thing, so I'm quite pleased to come out of those tough days and be in the position I'm in."

Fronting up

On Sunday, it was Löfkvist who sat second in a small Sky train that led the bunch up the lower slopes of the Col de la Ramaz. In front was Juan Antonio Flecha, with Wiggins third. "We just wanted to stay out of trouble at the bottom of the Ramaz," said Löfkvist, explaining the tactic.

"The Quick Step guys disappeared from the front," continued Löfkvist, referring to the Belgian team which had been working on the front for their leader, and the man in the yellow jersey, Sylvain Chavanel.

"When they went [because Chavanel was dropped] we just wanted to keep a steady pace and keep out of trouble. If everybody had sat up there'd have been a lot of attacks and it would have been far harder to control it. So being at the front simply allowed us to ride at our own pace.

"Now we have to continue taking it day by day, just trying to make sure we don't lose any time," added Löfkvist. "The most important thing is not to have bad days. But there are still another two weeks, so it's a long way to Paris ."