Belgian Thomas de Gendt held onto the leader's yellow jersey ahead of Wednesday's 23.5km time-trial, which should see a major shake-up in the overall standings.
Three-time winner Chris Froome will expect to move into yellow jersey contention ahead of a weekend where the overall winner will be decided on summit finishes at Alpe d'Huez and Plateau de Solaison.
And Froome said gaining time on his overall rivals, such as Romain Bardet and Alberto Contador, would make a major difference for the rest of the race.
"It's going to be a huge dynamic of the race here. Whoever gets time tomorrow (Wednesday) in terms of the GC (overall) battle won't necessarily have to go on the offensive in the following days," said Froome.
