After the reshuffling of La Planche des Belles Filles and the presence of four Frenchmen in the top 10 of the Tour de France, the question at the village depart in Besancon was whether a Frenchman can make it on the podium in Paris.

Most of the riders concerned stay cautious.

"The objective remains the top 10," said Thibaut Pinot to LeTour.fr, currently 6th overall, 3:47 behind Vincenzo Nibali.

"Everything else will be bonus," he added. But since his FDJ manager, Marc Madiot, admits being at times overcautious in words, one can tell confidence in the diminutive climber is strong within his team. 

Romain Bardet, 4th overall 3:01 adrift, also refuses to be carried away: "I don't want to set myself a precise goal and ranking," he said.

But ambitions are also high in his AG2R outfit, who have already a stage win under their belt and can count on veteran Jean-Christophe Peraud, who is 8th in the GC and overtly admits wanting more.

"The top 10, I've been there already so obviously I set my goals higher," he said.

And many believe his experience and time trial kills actually plead in his favour.