Chris Froome has said that he is better in shape and is in control of the situation.
The Team Sky rider maintained his lead of 3.10 on stage eighteen and said to letour.fr: "There are a few races within the race, like Rodriguez going up the road for the King of the Mountains.
"Riders who are eighth or ninth overall put their team at the front of the bunch to defend their position. It works well for us. Having Geraint Thomas in fourth position is a dream scenario. Quintana and Valverde ride more conservatively because if they go for all or nothing, they risk losing their place on the podium, so we're just focused on those two riders.
"I'm in a good shape. I'm in a better shape than two years ago. I'm quite confident that I'm in control of the situation.
"There are two really hard stages to do. I hope to come through those two stages with no problem. To win a stage would be amazing but at this point I'm not going to kill my team-mates for a stage win.
"The yellow jersey remains the priority. It'll be my first time climbing l'Alpe d'Huez with a Dutchman, Wout Poels, in the team. His family and friends will be there in the Dutch corner. It'll be our last challenge.
"We can expect a grand finale. We've done harder climbs than l'Alpe d'Huez during this Tour de France but that's a mythical one. I hope I won't repeat what happened two years ago when I hit the wall with hungerflat.
"Before that, in tomorrow's stage, it'll be my first time climbing the col de Chaussy. On the other hand, I know La Toussuire very well. It's hard climb! It's a bit easier at the end but I expect Movistar to attack me with 4 or 5km to go.
Stage eighteen winner Romain Bardet said: "I've respected our plan this morning. I had to make the breakaway and that was the hardest part. In the past few days, we've seen big groups going up the road and that's complicated to deal with. I had to reach the col du Glandon with the smallest group possible. I was keen to attack at the bottom but I knew there would be head wind towards the top so I waited. I've raced as if the finishing line was at the top of the Glandon.
"Clearly in Mende I made a mistake. I didn't know there was a downhill after the climb. In the evening I couldn't believe that I hadn't won. But I never lost the support of my team. That's how I managed to bounce back. We did it as a team. I had two team-mates with me in the breakaway today. They were a great help. Losing at Mende has made me a winner today."
Joaquim Rodriquez has said that his goal is the King Of The Mountains jersey and said: "I'm happy and sad at the same time. I felt good today but the breakaway was hard to control because of the big number of riders in it.
"My goal was to pass first at the Glandon to take 25 KOM points but it hasn't been possible. I've had to close gaps all the time.
"I haven't managed to feed myself as much as I needed. I paid the price. It's a pity because it was a good day for another stage win. Now my goal will be to score a maximum of points to reach Paris with the polka dot jersey."