Katusha's general classification leader in the upcoming Tour de France, Joaquin Rodriguez, is hard at work in Switzerland finishing up his preparation for July's Grand Boucle. After two days, Rodriguez is 14th overall, 20 seconds behind Swiss champion, Fabian Cancellara.
Rodriguez is hopeful about his prospects in Switzerland, but like seemingly every other Tour de France contender, he's putting no pressure on himself this week.
"I had a good feeling during the Prologue, and I only lost 20 seconds to Cancellara. I think that's ok. Now we will see what is going to happen further along in the race. We want to try a little here, but it is also quite clear that we are here to refine my form. Looking at the Tour, this is the best preparation you can get."
The Spaniard took a break following Liege-Bastogne-Liege, then began the final build for the Tour with a lot of hard work in the tiny Pyrenean principality of Andorra.
"I have trained in Andorra with long days of riding between six and seven and a half hours at a time. There, I did many days with 5000-6000 meters of climbing, so it was really hard."
The 31-year-old Rodriguez has had a career renaissance of sorts since leaving Caisse d'Epargne to take up a position of leadership with Russian team Katusha. He has enjoyed an impressive first half of the season with wins at the Volta a Catalunya, a stage at Pais Vasco, and GP Miguel Indurain, along with top placings in a myriad of other events including 2nd at Fleche Wallonne, 3rd at the Vuelta al Pais Vasco, and 6th overall at Paris-Nice.