Bauke Mollema (Belkin) starts Sunday as the number two in the rankings as the Tour de France peloton tackles the stage that includes an ascent up the infamous Mont Ventoux, a col Mollema has never climbed. Still he remains relaxed and optimistic. "I'll see what happens," he told the Dutch TV station NOS.

The Dutchman, who completed Saturday’s fourteenth stage of the Tour unscathed, was sober and objective when he talked about the fifteenth stage and the challenges presented by the Giant of Provence.

"I do not know a lot about the Ventoux. I've never ridden it. All I know is it's a long climb. Obviously I’m quite curious and my objective is to consolidate my position in the general classification. Hopefully, my inexperience with regards to the Ventoux won’t work to my disadvantage.”

Mollema’s Belkin teammate Laurens Ten Dam is especially curious about his fitness level after two weeks of fierce Tour de France competition. "I wonder how my body will react once we reach the slopes of this dreaded mountain," he said.

After two weeks, Ten Dam begins the stage as number five in the overall standings, but acknowledged he was beginning to feel his legs.

"But that's normal, I guess. Today [Saturday] the first two hours certainly didn’t evolve as peacefully as we would have wished for. We had already spent two weeks on the bike, it was hot and there was also pain in the legs as a result of the exhausting stage on Friday. Later during the stage I was happy to recover somewhat," said Ten Dam. "I still feel good. Once we reach the top of the Mont Ventoux, we’ll see where we stand."