The roller-coaster Grand Tour racing tradition continued unabated in this year's race, as Mikel Landa, who nearly retired from the Tour de France after crashing on Friday, returned on Saturday and was among the favorites to win on Sunday. Bahrain McLaren leader Mikel Landa was confident that he had not yet reached his limits.

Dave Brailsford signed Mikel Landa, who finished third in the 2015 Giro d'Italia, and told Cycling News, "He is a future Grand Tour mainstay."

More than four years have passed since he said.

Since then, Landa has failed to finish on the podium once in a Grand Tour, but is always within striking distance of the podium. Despite suffering his second setback on Friday, a strong showing in the Pyrenees suggested that once again the Basque champion could be in contention for this year's Tour de France.

"It seems like I'm always falling behind and then making up for it again," Landa recalled at a press conference on his rest day.

On his 2020 Tour de France destiny, Landa said, "You have to keep the ambition. A podium is possible, and I have to stay focused on that."

Landa was caught in a crosswind on stage 7 and lost 1:21 to Lavol.

"Things would have been perfect if not for the loss of a minute and a half on Friday. If we have the feeling we had in the Pyrenees, I think we can do something important. At the moment, the gap is not that big," Landa said.

Landa, currently in 10th place overall, refuses to consider the 1:42 gap to race leader Primoš Roglic (Jumbo Visma) as decisive.

The Basque rider recognized that catching up was not the only part of the race. He needed to gain time on his other rivals in the final time trial, which would have a "big impact" on GC.

Failed Greek demigods aside, Landa's dream of beating the Slovenian heroes and conquering Mount Olympus in the yellow jersey did not falter despite the setback.

One goal, to become the team's sole leader after sharing that honor with both Sky and Movistar, has already been achieved with Bahrain McLaren, which Landa admits is better.

"Despite the setbacks," he said, referring to the terrible crashes of Rafael Valls and Wout Poels.

Whatever lies ahead for Landa, he remained concerned, as did all the other riders in the Tour, about the ongoing COVID-19 PCR test and its impact on the race tomorrow and beyond.

"It's worrisome," Landa recognized, but hoped that "with all the proper measures in place, it will be resolved without issue and we can move on."

As in the best stories, when one obstacle is overcome, another appears.