Pierre Rolland is expecting to target a stage win and get as high on the GC as he can as he leads Cannondale at the Criterium du Dauphine this week. The 29 year old Frenchman says he will do his best but his eyes are on the Tour de France, now just four weeks away.

“The big objective for me and the team is the Tour de France,” Rolland told VeloNews. “I am thinking about the Tour, but we hope to have results earlier.”

Rolland says he has put lots of pressure on himself ahead of this race, as he is desperate to please his new team and show them what he can do as their leader.

“There is a different kind of pressure, because I am on a new team, and I want to do something nice,” Rolland said. “The pressure comes from me.”

Rolland says he likes his new team, he is learning English but riders and staff do their best to speak French with him too so that he remains in the loop while he picks the dialect up.

“I feel good on this team, and I am learning English,” Rolland said. “The sport directors speak French with me, and many of the words of the peloton are still French, but it’s nice to learn a new language.”

Rolland says his age and Tour experience will help him in July, as he is no longer a wide-eyed youngster and knows exactly what is coming over the three weeks.

“I am 29, and I’ve done seven Tours, and I know the pressure of the race. I know what I have to do, and I know how the race develops, and I want to make the results for myself. I don’t worry about the journalists or what the people say.”