At the end of a blistering hot and very jittery stage Thursday, Chris Froome (Sky) rolled home alongside the other general classification candidates in 18th position and was satisfied to get another potentially hazardous day under the belt.

“It’s been a stressful week so far, but good at the same time. On the whole we’ve come through it really well as a team and we’re sitting in a really good position now heading into the Pyrenees,” Froome told the Sky website.

Froome also gave an injury update on his teammate Geraint Thomas who might make it to Paris despite riding with a fractured pelvis.

“Everyone knows about Geraint’s injuries, but he’s still been pulling his weight and doing his job, even though he’s got a fractured pelvis. He’s feeling better and better each day and, at this rate, he could be with us all the way to Paris.”

Looking ahead Froome said he was anxious to reach the mountains as this might ease off some of the tension that has been evident during the first week of the Tour this year and has resulted in a series of serious crashes, adding further tension and piling up the psychological pressure on the contenders for the overall classification.

“I’m definitely looking forward to getting into the harder climbs now. It’s been quite nerve-wracking on the flats. Everyone’s really close on the general classification and everyone’s fighting for position, but hopefully once we hit the climbs it’s going to open up a little bit more and the race will calm down a bit. There was a lot of pushing and shoving today. I can understand the sprinters wanting a clean sprint – they don’t want GC riders in their way – but I can also see it from the GC riders’ point of view. We want to stay up there and fight for those positions if there’s the threat of losing seconds in the final like what happened today.”

All things considered, Froome remained confident as the Tour slowly edges its way towards the terrain that will decide the outcome of this year’s Grande Boucle.

“I’m very happy with where we are, though. We’re in a great position and I’m really pleased with the team I’ve got around me, both on and off the bike, so I’m looking forward to getting stuck into next week.”