While the climbers have been battling in the mountains, Peter Sagan has been saving energy and he still believes that he has two chances to take that elusive stage victory. Meanwhile, his teammate Alessandro De Marchi attacked again in today's final mountain stage but again came away empty-handed.

Even though he is virtually guaranteed to win the green jersey, Peter Sagan has not had the Tour de France he was hoping for. He still hasn't won a stage and now the number of opportunities is limited.

However, the Slovakian is still hopeful that he will prevail in one of the final two sprint stages.

"I went pretty well uphill today," he said. "The Astana team pulled quite hard so in the Tourmalet I looked for a small group to climb at a decent speed. In the final climb, on the other hand, I rode slowly.

"Starting tomorrow, I have two stages left to ride as a sprinter. I don't have the stage win I want yet. I hope for the best. Up to now, there have been other stages adapted to my characteristics and yet I didn't win. I realize that every year, the race is different at the Tour de France. Some things go well, others don't."

While Sagan was far behind, his teammate Alessandro De Marchi was again on the attack. For the umteenth time, however, the efforts didn't pay of for the strong Italian.

“I had good feeling in the morning and I thought today was the last chance I had to find the success," he said. "I felt I had to try; I want to finish the Tour de France with no regrets. I did my best, and tomorrow I’ll again be at disposal for Peter as we hunt for a stage win.”