Four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome said he is keeping an eye out for opportunities as the race enters the Alps and the second half of the race following a rest day Monday.

The Briton, who is competing in his second Tour from Israel's Premier Tech, had some tough moments in the first nine days of the race, breathing dust on the cobbled fifth stage to Allenberg.

But in a rest day interview, he said he hoped to create a breakaway late in the race and help his team fight for another stage win, following Simon Clark's victory on the cobbled stage.

Froome now sits in 37th place overall after nine days of racing, 28 minutes behind leader Tadej Pogachar.

"Personally, I'm getting better and better," Froome said on Monday's rest day. We'll see what opportunities present themselves during the race, and if the legs are good, I'm going to go for it."

"It was tough early in the race. I was a little bit sick last week, but I'm definitely feeling better after this first rest day. I was coughing and struggling with my chest for a couple of days, especially after the cobblestone stage.

"I'm hoping my legs are in good shape for the mountain stages coming up," he said.

"I think we will see more of him. The other riders are working hard to help them and get them into the break at the right time." Personally, I'd like to see that kind of movement with them and see how far they can get into the climb and see if they can contend for a stage win."

Woods, Fuglsang's co-leader, is already involved in a battle after being involved in a crash on stage 9 to Chatel on Sunday. The Canadian climber finished 131st with cuts and road rash on his hip, elbow, leg, and back, but Froome said his teammate has recovered from his ordeal and can make an impact on the race.

"I think there was a point where the road turned and the group flew straight across the median of the road.

"He finished the stage yesterday. There aren't many sports in the world where you can see people with open wounds and literally bleeding their way to the finish line. But he's a tough, tough guy and I know he'll bounce back."

Froome described the first week of the Tour, which carried the peloton from the plains of Denmark to the cobblestones of northern France to the summit finish in the Jura and the Alps, as "pretty typical" with crashes and nervousness affecting him as usual.

He said Clark's result in Allenberg allowed the team to hold its head high after nine days. 35-year-old Clark joined the team earlier this year and out-sprinted Taco van der Hoorn to win his first Tour de France He gave the team its first stage win in the Tour de France by defeating Taco van der Hoorn in an out sprint.

"I think the highlight of the first week for us was Clark's stage win on the cobbled stage. That was a really great experience. We heard him on the radio as he was approaching the finish, and basically the team backed him all the way up and said, 'Okay, this is our chance, we're going to take it.'

"This is my third Tour de France. It's a very young team. Winning such an epic stage means a lot to the team and to the 'Racing for Change' project to raise awareness at this year's Tour de France," added Froome, referring to the team's campaign to build a bicycle center in Rwanda, "Field of Dreams. Field of Dreams," he added.

He said the stage win boosted the morale of the entire team, adding that the success also "makes things easier" for him and his teammates in that they "get the freedom to look for opportunities in the next race."

After evaluating his own race and the team's accomplishments through July, Froome turned his attention to the ongoing battle for the overall lead.

Froome said that Vingegaard would be the man to challenge Pogachar throughout the rest of the race, adding that he sympathized with Vingegaard's co-leader Primos Roglic, who lost two minutes in a crash on stage 5.

"It's always interesting to see who can make it through the first week unscathed. The cobbles in particular were a big hurdle for many GC riders," said Froome.

"It was unfortunate that Primoš Roglic was involved in the crash. [But] on the other hand, I could see Vingegaard making great progress as a GC rider and as a contender to win this year's Tour de France. If anyone is going to challenge Pogachar this year, I think it will be him."

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