One year ago Bauke Mollema was sitting in third overall on the first rest day of the Tour de France but this year he finds himself in a much less comfortable position. Having suffered from stomach problems, he is only 10th in the overall standings but still sees room for improvement as he returns to full health.

Last year Bauke Mollema finished 6th in the Tour de France. This year, the Dutchman has to be satisfied with a provisional sixth place but he has an explanation for his poor performance.

"For four days, I have been suffering from stomach problems," he said on the rest day. "It started in the third stage and Friday was the first day when I again felt good.

"I felt really bad in the cobbles stage to Arenberg. I was annoyed by the disease and feared for my GC. I could not go all out but now I finally feel that I am back to 100% and I go for a good result in the overall standings.

"After the withdrawals of Froome and Contador, everyone thinks that I will finish on the podium or in the top 5 but that's no automatically the case.

"Nibali is above everyone else but there are many candidates for the top 10. Several Frenchmen are good, we should keep an eye on them.

"I had hoped to be a bit higher now, but fortunately there are still almost two weeks left. The top five is still within reach. But it's not for me to attack. I will just try to follow the favorites and so move up in the standings."