Spain's Valverde fighting on

By Julien Pretot

PAU, France (Reuters) - A day after his failure in the Pyrenees, Alejandro Valverde said the Alps could reinstate him as a top contender of the Tour de France.

The Spaniard lost ground on the first ascent of the 10th stage on Monday and dropped to 14th overall four minutes and 41 seconds adrift of race leader Cadel Evans of Australia.

"Today is more complicated than before but the hardest part (of the race) has yet to come," Valverde told a media conference on Tuesday.

"There are three very tough stages in the Alps where you can lose five to 10 minutes.

"Yesterday I suffered in the first part of the stage in the ascent of the Col du Tourmalet and then I feel I was better in the (final) climb to Hautacam.

"So I think I could gain some time in the Alps," the Spanish champion added.

"I have the will to fight. Now I want to forget about yesterday and rest."

Caisse d'Epargne team mate Oscar Pereiro, the 2006 Tour champion, said: "Yesterday I did not want to talk because I was too disappointed. But now, this morning, the state of mind is different. We're going to fight."