Tour is far from being over

Even though team´s leader Alberto Contador sits fifth overall with 4:23 down on Fromm, Saxo Tinkoff is certainly not giving in before the final key stages of the Tour de France. “It might seem that the Tour is decided now but many things can happen yet,” said Roman during the second rest day.

Did you go out riding?

We went out for a spin for an hour and a half. I´m trying to rest as much as possible to recharge batteries for the next stages. Our hotel is not air-conditioned and it was very hot at night so I did not sleep well.

How are you feeling before the Alpine stages?

The weather should get colder a little bit and they are predicting rain showers, which I would welcome. The last days have been extremely hot. I did not have the legs in the Pyrenees but I felt stronger on Plateau de Beille and yesterday. I believe that I will get better and I will be able to stay with the front group longer.

Is there any chance that you could try to win a stage or is team´s priority to support Alberto?

We will see how I feel and which strategy the team will choose. We still have one goal; to support Alberto so that he could get the best result possible in the GC. It doesn’t really matter if I finish in 30^th, 20^th of 15^th position.

Can Contador still think of riding in the yellow jersey?

We have 4 difficult stages ahead of us, 2 of them are extremely tough. Froom has proven to be extremely strong and other favourites were falling behind a little bit. The Tour might seem decided but in my opinion, many things can happen yet. When you are having a bad day, it is not that you lose 30 seconds, you can even lose several minutes. It will also depend on how strong the team Sky will be in the mountains.

So can we expect attacks from other riders?

If other teams want to put Froom under pressure they have to attack. Movistar has two strong riders, Nibali can surprise from behind and Alberto will definitely try to do something as well. It is impossible to plan anything beforehand, we will see how things go.

How does the team feel about Contador´s fifth place? Is it a disappointment?

It is too early to talk about a disappointment, we can discuss this in Paris. We have to realize that nowadays it is not really easy to complete the Giro-Tour double and it is actually appreciated that anybody gives it a go. We are definitely not throwing in the towel.