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Giro d'Italia champion Denis Menchov remained upbeat about his Tour de France prospects despite losing 90 seconds in the opening time trial first stage on Saturday.

"I feel pretty good, nothing special," the Russian said at the start of the second stage in Brignoles.

"My time was normal, 53rd out of 180 riders is nothing to be ashamed of. We knew from the start Astana was a strong team and it would be hard to win the Tour, yet a podium remains within reach."

The Rabobank leader, fourth overall last year, noted he was only some 20 seconds behind other favourites such as defending champion Carlos Sastre of Spain and Luxembourg's Andy Schleck.

Yet team leader Erik Breukink sounded far less optimistic.

"I'm not saying that it's lost, otherwise we could as well call it quits. But 1:30 is a lot of time. Thirty seconds would have been manageable," he said.

Breukink hinted Menchov might not have fully recovered from the Giro.

"The Giro/Tour combination worked well last year, maybe less so this year. In any case Denis struggled in the climb yesterday and never managed to find the right pace," he said.

Breukink made it clear youngster Robert Gesink, 23 was now far more than just a second choice leader for Rabobank.

"They were both protected riders at the start. Now they will be on an equal footing in the mountains," he said.

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Reuters