Having looked like the best climber in yesterday's stage, Thibaut Pinot was on the defensive in today's Tour de France queen stage and lost time to podium rival Jean-Christophe Peraud. Admitting that he was forced on the defensive on a bad day, he says that he needs better legs tomorrow if he wants to finish in the top 3.

Yesterday Thibaut Pinot got a confidence boost when his accelerations on the Port de Bales even seemed to put Vincenzo Nibali in difficulty. Hence, he went into today's queen stage with the plan to attack but instead he ended up being on the defensive.

At the end of the day, Pinot lost time to Jean-Christophe Peraud who is now only 6 seconds behind Pinot in the overall standings. The FDJ leader admits that he needs to improve in tomorrow's stage to Hautacam if he is to become the first Frenchman since 1997 to finish on the podium.

"I keep the white jersey whsh is important for us and that can give me the opportunity to get on the podium in Paris even if I font' finish in the top three," he said. "I knew that the last descent was technical. I limited the gap to Bardet while controlling Péraud with the help of Arnold [Jeannesson]. 

"I was not nearly as good as yesterday but in the Tour, there are ups and downs. It is important to know how to manage the difficult times. To fight for the podium I need to have at least a minute on Valverde and Peraud.On the Hautacam which is a very difficult climb, I will have the legs of Port de Balès.

“I've got mixed feelings. I'm still third overall but I was feeling much less at ease than yesterday. I had to limit the damage. We've done that pretty well, with the help of Arnold Jeannesson. It was hard all day and the final climb was really tough.

"The podium remains a goal but I've lost time from Peraud who is a time trial specialist. He's like me. He also has a bad day sometimes. To beat him, I'll need to have better legs than today.”

"I think Thibaut has had a small setback but it's okay," said sports director Yvon Madiot. "If he does not lose more time  than this on a bad day, we will not complain. I think he had a little trouble in the heat, it was 38° on thePeyresourde. We can say that Thibaut does not like Pla d'Adet but instead he loves Hautacam. He climbed twice it in May."