Tinkoff-Saxo team director Steven De Jongh said the loss of Ivan Basso, who was diagnosed with testicular cancer and left the Tour de France, was a blow for the team but was also a great motivation for his team-mates.
 

“It's a handicap, but we'll try to turn it into motivation. Yesterday was a tough day for the team. Now we must turn the page and focus on the race. To take Alberto in the yellow jersey in Paris for Ivan is a big motivation,” he told letour.com.

With the first mountain stage in the Pyrenees looming and his leader Alberto Contador having spent a good first week, De Jongh said he expected a tough battle on the road to La Pierre-Saint-Martin. 

“It's one of the first big mountain stages so we should see a nice fight between the favorites, Froome, Quintana, Nibali, Tejay and Alberto of course,” he said.

“Alberto is OK. We didn't want to lose time in crosswinds and on the cobbles and we achieved that. I think he's in a pretty healthy condition to tackle the mountains.”

De Jongh, who used to work for Team Sky, expects Chris Froome's team-mates to try and control the day's stage.

“I expect Chris to attack and Team Sky to set him up nicely in the climb to try and eliminate his rivals. It might not be the best day to attack him. Tomorrow might be better. Circumstances will dictate but it's still a very long Tour.”