Rui Costa did one of the best time trials of his life when he finished third behind the specialists Tony Martin and Tom Dumoulin in today's stage of the Tour de Suisse, losing less than half a minute to the world champion. Despite moving into third as the best of the pre-race favourites, he remains cautious about his overall chances and regards Martin as the favourite to win the race overall.

This year Rui Costa has a chance to make history by becoming the first rider to win the Tour de Suisse three years in a row. After a slow start to the race, he really showed his cards in today's time trial, finishing third with a time loss of just 28 seconds to world champion Tony Martin.

The result moved him into third in the overall standings, 1.05 behind Martin, and with two mountaintop finishes there is plenty of terrain to take back time in the weekend. Despite being pleased with his performance, however, he remains guarded about his chances and says that a podium spot is his goal.

"Today's stage was a crucial moment in Tour of Switzerland," he said. "I felt good and my legs were ready for this important test. I want to congratulate Tony Martin who was unbeatable in a time trial that had a tough climb.  Martin is now the favorite to win the Tour of Switzerland and I wonly needs to defend himself on the climbs in the final two stages.

"It's been a great satisfaction to see me fight with all the best time trial specialists, resulting in a performance that allows me to challenge for a spot on the podium. It is an achievable goal but it will not be easy as there are many motivated opponents and the gaps are not unbridgeable. 

"Many congratulations to my teammate Mattia Cattaneo [who finished 10th and is now 8th overall]. He proves that he is a rider of great class."