Chris Horner is going into the Tour de France with lots of uncertainty as he has just recovered from horrific crash and only has four days of racing in his legs. The Vuelta champion doesn't know what kind of condition he is in but claims that he is definitely not in a bad state.

When he signed a contract with Lampre-Merida, Chris Horner was set to be the team leader in the Giro and the Vuelta while Rui Costa would be the sole captain for the Tour de France. However, a bad crash in training caused Horner to miss the Giro and now the American suddenly finds himself in Leeds for the start of the French grand tour.

The crash left Horner with broken ribs and a punctured lung and he only returned to racing in the Tour de Slovenie where he showed some solid condition by finishing 12th overall. The result was enough to convince the team management to select him for the Tour and they have made it clear that they prefer him to ride for the GC.

In an interview with Cyclingnews, the 42-year-old American claims that he is in good condition but he doesn't know whether he is as strong as he was last September when he won the Vuelta overall.

“The form is alright, it’s not bad. I don’t know if it is winning form like the Vuelta but it’s something. I’ll take it and we’ll see what happens,” he said. 

“First, it’s just about trying to get through the first week, that’s what I’m looking at. It’s just trying to get through the first week, don’t lose time and hopefully don’t get caught up in the crashes. It would be difficult to get involved in another crash so early in my recovery. Once we get to the mountains we’ll see what happens.”

Horner is not the team leader as the team is built around world champion Rui Costa. However, that doesn't bother the American despite his past grand tour success.

“At the moment I don’t want leadership, I just want to make it through the first week and if you’ve got a problem then you’ve got a teammate to help you out. I don’t expect a team to be around me, I expect them to be around Rui and I will stay near Rui.”