For the second day in a row, Tony Gallopin surprised himself by staying with the favourites in a tough mountain stage of the Tour de France.

"I tried to go in a breakaway but Chris Froome said he would not let me go. I'm too dangerous in the GC," he told L'Equipe. "The legs are good, I have never climbed so well in my life. On the Tourmalet, Astana tried to accelerate. Everyone was on the limit I think. For my part, I was in the red zone. On the last climb, I tried to attack to gain time but I got nowhere. It gets serious.

"Tomorrow is anot a stage that I love as there will be climbs all day and a very hard finish. I take pleasure from the results I have had. If I explode tomorrow, I explode."

"He has always secretly hoped for a bit for the GC," manager Marc Sergeant told Sporza. "Like his family, his uncle and his father. He is also a Frenchman in the Tour de France. That's something special.

"He has worn the yellow last year. And now he's super good. He has never been so light before. It would be crazy to say that we let the GC go.

"We'll see how far he gets. He told me yesterday after the stage that he could give me no guarantees so that every day he will try his best. We'll see where it ends.. Then he can still for for a stage victory because he is just good."