Looking back at the opening two days of the Tour de France, Movistar captain Alejandro Valverde said he was relieved to have come through unscathed but admitted to being a bit weary ahead of one final test around the narrow streets on the island of Corsica.

The Movistar leader and his squad has escaped relatively unharmed from the opening day’s mayhem with Rui Costa the only rider to sustain a slight injury to his right-hand wrist.

"I'm happy because we made it through another day. It was the first one in proper heat and that's a chief indicator because you get more tired towards the finish. We saved some energy during the day and did not lose time but the truth is that it was quite a demanding stage. It was the first day with mountains and that always feels a little weird but the feelings are still good," said Valverde on his team site.

Like many of the pre-race favourites, Valverde presently lies 31st just a single second behind the new race leader and stage 2 winner Jan Bakelants (RadioShack Leopard) but with the third and final stage around Corsica offering a more difficult parcour, the Spaniard is aware that it will be important to stay on point.

"We have made it through two of the three days [on Corsica] that we feared and we will have to see if tomorrow [Monday] continues like this. It was a complicated stage today and tomorrow will be even greater because it will be very nervous. I expect it to pass effortlessly thanks to my team that continues to be great. We've been extremely attentive and that brings me peace of mind," he added.

Last year Valverde left the Tour relatively displeased despite winning a mountain stage. He had entered the race with ambitions that went beyond finishing inside the top 20 but failed to fulfil these – in part due to the fact that he had spent two years out of competition as a consequence of his involvement with the blood-doping doctor Eufemiano Fuentes.

Taking second on GC at last year’s edition of the Vuelta a España while taking three stages (two individual and the TTT) and the points classification on the way has done nothing but good for Valverde’s ambitions, and the Movistar captain is targeting a place on the podium in this year’s Tour.