Defending Tour de France champion Cadel Evans is confident that he can force his way back into contention in this year's championship.
The 35-year-old Australian, who is currently second in the individual standings - one minute and 53 seconds behind leader Bradley Wiggins - believes that the considerable length of the race will work in his favour.
He said: "We'll keep working at it. I suspect that in the second and third week, as the race gets harder, riders get tired, there are hard stages to go and the Tour will open up more and more.
"We will have to think about different plans. But I think things will really change in the third week among the top 10 riders and that we'll see a reshaping in the classification."
Chris Froome and Vincenzo Nibali are the only other riders that are within three minutes of Wiggins at the halfway point.
