It has been six weeks since he took part in his last race and so far he has had a below-par season (for his standards), but Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) still ranks among the top favourites at the Critérium du Dauphiné, which is his first race since Liège-Bastogne-Liège in April.

Speaking to the press before the Dauphiné kick off at the foot of the Swiss Alps, Contador sought to diminish expectations for an overall win upon his return and insisted that the forthcoming Tour de France cannot be boiled down to a face-off between himself and Chris Froome (Sky).

"After the Classics, I really needed to take a rest," Contador said to the journalists according to L’Equipe. "The initial part of my season was quite long and intense. Now I've started a harder block of training compared to the beginning of the year. However, it is still too early for me to tell in what condition I am right now. There's still one month to go to the start of the Tour de France and the third week will be very difficult. I'm at the Dauphiné to figure out my state of form and see if the engine needs some adjustments for the Tour. But I'm happy with my preparation."

Contador has three Dauphiné participations to his name but he has never managed to win the race even though he has always won the Tour after competing at the Dauphiné (although he was later stripped of his 2010 win after testing positive for clenbuterol).

"I've finished second in 2010, third in 2009 and sixth in 2007 here before and once again, I'll race without thinking of the overall victory. The Tour is the goal. I'm motivated. I need to resume racing and ride long climbs. Shall there be a day to test myself, I'll give it a go but I'm looking at a bigger picture. The overall classification of the Tour de France is the one I want to win."

When quizzed about his head-to-head duel with Froome in the opening stages of the season (Tour of Oman, Tirreno-Adriatico) and the upcoming races, Contador didn’t buy into the concept of a two-man standoff. "I think it would be degrading a three-week race to only take two riders in consideration," the leader of Saxo-Tinkoff responded.

"This year, Froome is the reference point for everyone else. The same might be said about me due to my past. Recently, the Giro has given the perfect example of an expected duel that didn't happen. It was going to be Wiggins vs. Nibali, wasn't it? At the Tour, the race can be different from the early part of the year and the Dauphiné.

"The Tour is more than just about two riders. There are always some young riders improving their level. I never like to list the favourites because I'm sure to miss someone, but there a lot of protagonists. Joaquím Rodriguez (Katusha) has also improved a lot with his second places at the Giro and the Vuelta last year. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) has always been a great rider over three weeks. Cadel Evans (BMC) has also won the Tour de France and I need to take that into consideration."