Saturday's 20th stage - a 54km individual time trial is the last chance for Spaniard Alejandro Valverde to be included in the podium finish for the Tour De France. He will be challenged by other racers including Jean-Christophe Peraud and Thibaut Pinot. Currently, Valverde is placed fourth on the race but he is just mere 15 seconds away from Pinot. They are all trailing behind race leader Vincenzo Nibali.

According to Valverde, last Thursday final mountain stage is the most important stage and that now is the right time to recover physically and rediscover "good legs" before Saturday. But luck was not on his side as Friday's 208km 19th stage was filled with rain shower which gave him little chance to recover.

Valverde said "Everyone could see on TV that it really wasn't a day of rest. When you've completed 200km in rain on stressful and dangerous roads, you end up dead." He added "But we managed to stay up front and to avoid the crash (in which Peraud was caught up)."

Although lagging in the fourth place, Valverde is confident that he will be able to pass Pinot and finish among the top three of the race, he said "I know the route, I rode it in June. It's a demanding course with tight corners in which anything can happen."He added "I've been good against the clock this season and I think I can do a good job. I have good legs and I can aim for second or third."

Among the three racers behind the leader, Valverde is considered the weakest. He has not won any time trial in his country though he is the current Spanish laureate. But Valverde enjoys the challenge. He said "I like time trials so I'll give it my all and hope to be in a good day. On a scale of one to 10 for tiredness I think I'm at 12! But there's no reason for me to be afraid, there's nowhere to hide." He continued "The two that climb onto the podium will be the strongest two."

Will Valverde be among the racers who will climb up on top of the podium? We will soon find out on Sunday when the Tour De France commenced.