After taking a history-making third consecutive victory in the Tour de Suisse, Rui Costa will go into the Tour de France as a team leader for the first time in his career. Despite his strong performance in Switzerland, he remains guarded about his chances and says that there are stronger contenders for the podium than him.

Last year Rui Costa went into the Tour de France as third in the hierarchy on the Movistar team and had to sacrifice his GC ambitions to help Alejandro Valverde on the dramatic, windy stage to Saint Armand Montrond. Realizing that he would never be a Tour leader at the Spanish team, he chose to sign a contract with Lampre-Merida where he was promised a role as a team captain for the World's biggest bike race.

Last week he won the Tour de Suisse for the third time in his career and so proved that he is fully ready for the challenge. The victory and the win in the queen stage were his first in the rainbow jersey and marked an end to a frustrating string of near-misses that saw him finish second numerous times in the early part of the season.

"The win meant a lot," he told Biciciclismo in an interview."First of all it was a reward for the work of my teammates all year and especially this week. But it is also a reward for the hard work I have done since December. I have always said that my goal is to defend the rainbow jersey all year and honour it in every raise. So far I had not been able to raise my arms and that was frustrating. That's also why the win was very important, also because it was in Switzerland where there are many Portuguese fans that cheered us on in all stages."

For assumed many things. For starters, it is a reward for the work of my colleagues throughout the year and especially this week. But it is also a reward for all the work he had done in training since December. I always say that my goal is to defend the rainbow jersey throughout the season and do it with honor in every race. But so far not been able to lift his arms and was a thorn that had stuck. Why it was so important to win and also in Switzerland, where there are many Portuguese fans who come to cheer at all stages.

"Obviously I wanted to win for the team and the sponsors. But I was really not worried because both my performances and feelings were good. I had never been on the podium in Algarve and never been second in Paris-Nice. In Romandie, where I was third, I repeated my result so in fact I was doing my best season since I turned professional, with good results and great consistency.

"People say that it doesn't count if you don't win but I disagree. I was very happy with my performance and that gave me peace in mind to fo for victory.

"The worst of the year have been undoubtedly been my crashes in key moments. The Ardennes are classics that I like. In Amstel I was fine and I missed very little to be with the best. But I was not worried because my main objectives were Fleche Wallonne and Liege. But in those races I had no luck with my crashes. My idea is to go back to them in the future. They are classics that suit me well and if I can avoid bad luck I should be up there with the best."

Costa is now ready for the Tour de France but he remains guarded about his ambitions.

"My final preparation will be the same as usual," he said. "I haven't changed my habits. The fundamental idea is to rest as the hard work for the Tour has been done. And after racing for many days in Switzerland it does not make sense to continue the hard training. Now I have to recover well from the race an focus on the Tour even though I will also rider the Portuguese championships.

"I have no specific goal [for the Tour]. I always tend to think that my goal should be to improve each year. But the truth is that I have never done the Tour de France with a focus on the GC so this is my debut with this mentality and so I have no reference yet.

"But with a complicated stage on the cobbles I thing it is better to take it day by day instead of being obsessed by a goal. The Tour is very difficult and I must try to be cool at all times and find out what will be my goal. You can focus on stage wins and suddenly be up there in the overall. A bad day can prompt you to forget the GC.

"Froome and Contador have an advantage over their rivals. They already know how to win the Tour de France. I can not say that my goal is to be third because until now I have never have been fighting for these positions and there are opponents that have already been on the Tour de France podium and won three-week races. Riders like Nibali and Valverde have more experience than I have and are favoruites for the podium. That's a fact.

"In the Tour all 23 days are important, even the rest days are essential as you can suffer more than necessary if you relaz too much. As I said, the start in England, the day with the cobbles, the Alps, the Pyrenees, the TT,... At any time it can be a decisive day. Just remember what happened last year with the crosswind stage that didn't seem to be as decisive as a mountain satge but ended up being crucial. If I have learnt something, it is that you need to be focused every day. From start to finish, you can now relax for a single second. The problem is that the other 200 riders know this as well."

Later this year Costa will try to defend his rainbow jersey but he refuses to discuss the course in Ponferrada at this early point.

"I don't want to get obsessed about future races," he said. "I am only focused on the next one. That is why I have not seen the course in Ponferrada yer. There's still a lot of time and many races that are important goals for me. If you spend too much time looking at future races, you risk losing focus on the race this week.

"To prepare for the Worlds, it makes sense to repeat what I have done in recent years, with the Canadian classics as the main challenge before the World Championships. But I can't decide anything before I have finished the Tour de France."

Costa only signed a one-year contract with Lampre-Merida and even though he claims to be happy in his new surroundings, he refuses to discuss where he will ride in the future.

"I signed for one year because I think it is most fair for both parties," he said. "I am not a rider who likes to change teams every year. I started with Benfica and then I rode for Eusebio Unzue's teams in the entire first part of my carrer. There was a moment where I felt that I needed more freedom and I explained it to Unzue. He understood my point of view.

"I decided to go to Lampre-Merida but only for one year because I think it's fair that I get to know them and they get to know me. Before signing a long contract, I think you should sign for one season. If all goes well, you can stay there for many year. But first the important thing is that everybody find out whether they are happy or not. I am happy at Lampre-Merida and I think I made a good decision last summer."