Samu aims for Tour podium

Speaking after concluding the Dauphiné yesterday, Samu outlined his hopes and expectations for the Tour come July. "I can be in the fight for the podium", he said. "It's going to be an unusual Tour. You can lose everything in the first four days. There's no need to plan ahead before getting over the pavés. The Tourmalet (on which he lost a lot of time in 2008) comes towards the end of the race when a lot of riders will be exhausted. It's an hour of riding on your limit. In addition the final time trial will be just around the corner; another hour of agony. It's a very difficult Tour. The key is to be consistent. Opportunities will present themselves in the last week. I want to get a high overall placing and a stage-win."