For FDJ team director Yvon Madiot, today's stage to Risoul will be a carbon copy of yesterday's stage to Chamrousse, where Vincenzo Nibali took the stage while his protégé Thibaut Pinot took fifth place in the wheel of Alejandro Valverde.

If that was the case, the peloton should keep a close eye on Czech Leo Koenig, third in Chamrousse and 10th overall, 8:36 behind Nibali and one second behind world champion Rui Costa.

For Koenig's team director Enrico Poitschke:

"Yesterday was a great day for us. Leo showed us that we could win a stage. And it remains our main goal on this Tour. We're going to try again today." He said to letour.fr.           

The German former rider who leads the NetApp-Endura team on the Tour, is convinced that his leader can finish in the top six in Paris:

"And in his career he can achieve even better. He's a climber but he can shine on any terrain. He's a real grand Tour rider, who recovers extremely well."

The ideal for NetApp would be to place a man in the day's breakaway even though they were not too successful on this Tour:

"Since the beginning of the race, we didn't see a break take ten minutes. It's pretty rare on the Tour but this years, there's always a team setting the pace," said IAM team manager Serge Beucherie.