Chris Froome expects attacks in the Alps

The British cyclist Chris Froome (Sky) has stated on Tuesday, during the second and final rest day of the Tour de France, that he expects attacks from all his rivals "everywhere", but especially on the climbs of the four upcoming days in the Alps, just before the finish in Paris.

"I expect to be attacked everywhere, whether it be on the flats, crosswinds, or on the climbs... But I have confidence that we have a team to control the race and take the yellow jersey to Paris," he said at a press conference.

The race leader pointed out that on Monday's climb to Manse, he was attacked by everyone and that this will be the trend, as he is currently leading the general classification with a 3:10 advantage over Nairo Quintana (Movistar), in second place, and a 3:32 advantage over Tejay Van Garderen (BMC), in third place.

"We saw the teams fighting for the overall attack during the climb. First Contador, then Valverde and Nibali. We can expect the same for the four remaining days until we reach Paris," he emphasized.

On Wednesday, there will be the first mountain-top finish in Pra Loup, marked by the long descent from the Col de l'Allos. "Nibali, maybe both Movistar riders, or Alberto Contador, who has changed a race in a descent before. As a team, we have to expect everything and be ready. We already saw in the climbs that Quintana showed he has the legs, and the rest, even if they might not feel as confident on the climbs, will still try," he warned.

Froome does not forget his suffering two years ago in Alpe d'Huez, the finish on Saturday. "I hope it goes better than last time, but when I compare myself to two years ago, I feel like I'm in a stronger position. I feel happy, I'm not fading," he admitted.

On the other hand, he regretted his teammate Geraint Thomas crashing after being hit by Warren Barguil (Giant), although ultimately without consequences. "It is never nice to see one of your teammates crash, especially when it's Geraint Thomas, who has given everything for me since the start of the Tour and is a contender for the general classification in his own right. But he is fine, it's tough," he said.

"It was unfortunate to lose Peter Kennaugh. He has had a tough couple of days with illness and he left a lot of energy trying to stay in the race yesterday," he commented on the withdrawal of another teammate, who did not start on Monday.

Finally, he expressed satisfaction that his team revealed performance data after his victory last week in the first stage in the Pyrenees, which helped him open a gap and raised doubts about the excellence of his performance. "I'm not sure if the numbers will solve everything, but certainly, I feel that both the team and I are definitely trying to be as open and transparent as possible," he concluded.