For the first time in his career, Samuel Sanchez was part of a winning performance in a team time trial in today's stage of the Tour de France. Having been anonymous until now, he is ready to show himself as Tejay van Garderen's lieutenant in the mountains.

"I'm kind of an advisor for Tejay van Garderen because this Tour seems a bit similar to 2011 when Cadel Evans won and I was there too. Whatever his statistics are, Tejay is in an incredible state of form," he told Letour.fr. "However, the main part of the race remains ahead of us. The Pyrenees will be a starter and the Alps our main dish.

"The first day in the mountains will come just after the rest day, that will make it extremely difficult. It's been twenty days since we last saw a climb and La Pierre-Saint-Martin isn't just another climb. It's hard, it's hot with a lot of humidity…"