Vincenzo Nibali goes into the final week of the Tour de France with a comfortable lead over nearest rival Alejandro Valverde. The Italian makes it clear that his main goal in the Pyrenees is to control the race and he has no big plans of gaining more time on his rivals.

Until now Vincenzo Nibali has given nothing away in this year's Tour de France. Whenever the race leader has had just the slightest chance, he has attacked his rivals and now goes into the third week of the race with an almost insurmountable lead. In his pre-race press conference, however, the Italian hinted that he may now change tactics and that his main goal will be to control the race in the Pyrenees.

“The stages coming up will be hard. We’ll keep an eye on the breaks but it will be hard to leave a mark here. The objective will be to control the race and maintain the advantage I have,” he said. “I have a significant gap and we’ll have to know how to manage it. I need to stay calm, alert and close to my team.

“You need to dose your energy in the last week and stay calm. This is still the Tour de France – every day is flat out, even if it might not always seem that way. There is a possible pitfall on every stage.

“There weren’t any moments of panic, I was always very tranquillo and focused. The stage that [Rafal] Majka won was the hardest up to now. With the three climbs of the Lautaret, Izoard and Risoul, it was hard for me and the team to control the race.

“In the Pyrenees, the best thing to do will be stay focused and keep an eye on the breaks. There could be strong riders who are a little further back who could get into breaks, and managing the race will be very difficult if that happens.

“I think it’s in my character to be calm, I’ve always been like that, and I have also drawn confidence from my condition. I think it was the same last year at the Giro d’Italia. I’m living it day-by-day and I can’t say it’s won until it’s over.”