As a pure climber, Thibaut Pinot has always lost lots of time in the time trials but this year he has taken a massive step forward. Yesterday he finished in the top 10 in a WorldTour TT for the third time in 2014 when he finished 9th in stage 7 of the Tour de Suisse.

Very often his poor time trialling skills have been costly for Thibaut Pinot in stage races. Like many other climbers, however, he has put in a dedicated effort to improve in the discipline and this year the hard work is starting to pay off.

Already in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco he put his improvement on show when he finished in the top 10 on a very hilly course with two big climbs. One month later he repeated that achievement in the Tour de Romandie in a stage that had a hard climb but also lots of flat roads that didn't suit him too well.

Going into his big objective at the Tour de France, Pinot again confirmed his improvement when he finished 9th in yesterday's Tour de Suisse time trial which was again a pretty hilly affair. Unsurprisingly, the Frenchman was pleased with his performance but having lost lots of time to the likes of Tony Martin and defending champion Rui Costa he admitted that the overall win will be hard to achieve.

"It was not easy time trial," he said. "It had two good climbs and a false flat descent at the end and I am happy with my result. I have progressed but I have done a lot of work to do so.

"I have got a cold since the mountain satge last Sunday and I have been on antibiotics since Tuesday. On Saturday, it will be a hard race since we have the climb to Verbier at the end. It is a difficult climb and I will try to win. For the GC, we will take stock Saturday night before the stage to Saas-Fee but Tony Martin and Rui Costa will be hard to beat."

"It is obvious [that he has improved]," sports director Yvon Madiot said. "This year Thibaut has finished in the top 10 in three WorldTour events, the Tour of the Basque Country, Tour de Romandie and now the Tour de Suisse, and this means he has become a very good specialist. He is certainly not pleased with himself because he is a perfectionist but the work he has done on his time trial bike for months really pays off."

Pinot is now 10th in the overall standings, 1.48 behind race leader Martin