also boosting the morale of the rest of the team.

"And I think our ability to be able to put a lot of resources into his race - material, staff, the right people, like in a family situation - makes it easier for him," Ochowicz said.

Adding to this his wife drove all the way from Italy with their child to visit Evans on the first rest day of the Tour. This was a real morale booster for Evans.

Last year, Evans said his efforts in finishing fifth in the Giro d'Italia drained him for the Tour de France. He decided to skip the Italian race this season to focus on the Grande Boucle and arrived at the start with less than 35 days of racing in his legs.

During his Tour warmup, he showed he was very capable of doing well in the high mountains with a second-place finish at the Criterium du Dauphine a few weeks ago. He also impressively won the Tirreno-Adriatico and the Tour de Romandie this season.

He didn't wait long before demonstrating his strength at the Tour de France this year, edging out Contador in a photo finish to win the fourth stage of the race. An additional disappointment for race favorite Contador who thought he had won the stage when he crossed the finish line.

"We centered his whole preparation on one-week races," Lelangue said and concluded "It gave him confidence and he arrived at the Tour de France fresher, which was crucial. And what his teammates have done for him during the first week of racing strengthened his confidence even further. He can do a beautiful Tour."