Valverde’s confidence was shaken when he survived a potentially dangerous crash in midweek and he has at times seen his Caisse d’Epargne team working when they would have preferred to stay hidden in the bunch.
“Our biggest aim to do was to avoid crashes,” said Valverde, who is still sixth overall, 1 minute, 12 seconds behind Kirchen and 1 minutes, 6 seconds behind Evans in the general classification.
“We pulled through and now we’ll try and get through the Pyrenees as best we can without losing too much time so we can be confident for the Alps, where the Tour is likely to be decided,” Valverde said.
Evans is only six seconds off Kirchen and the yellow jersey is within reach — although with plenty of key stages to race, he may not want the responsibility just yet.
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