EPERNAY, France (Reuters) - He was the man with the best results in the big stage races at the start of this Tour de France yet Denis Menchov passes almost unnoticed in the peloton - and the Russian loves it. It suits us fine to go unnoticed. You can prepare more easily, without any pressure from the media," his Katusha team director Valerio Piva told Reuters at the start of the sixth stage in Epernay on Friday. Menchov won the Giro d'Italia in 2009 and the Spanish Vuelta in 2005 and 2007. He also finished on the Tour podium in 2008 and 2010 after being crowned the best young rider in the race in 2003. Yet, oddly enough, he was hardly mentioned in most Tour previews as a possible winner. Everybody's talking about (Australian Cadel) Evans, and rightly so because he's the defending champion, and about (Briton Bradley) Wiggins, who's the in-form guy. But Denis is not far behind and with his experience, knows how to handle a race like the Tour. It's his 11th Tour, he knows what he's doing," Piva said. The former sports director for Mark Cavendish's old team, HTC Columbia, is convinced his leader could aim at a podium place at least. If people look down on him a little in spite of his record, it's because of his personality. He's a withdrawn man. But he's getting old and he knows he won't have many more chances to win the Tour. It might well be his year. At 34, Menchov probably feels more comfortable since he joined Russian team Katusha at the end of last season after six years in Dutch team Rabobank and a lacklustre 2011 season in low-key Spanish team Geox-TMC, who were not selected for the Tour. Another reason why people don't talk about Denis is because he did not do too much this season and the last. He was Russian time trial champion and that's about it," said Piva. He had knee problems but he's OK now. He prepared ideally for this Tour and is reaching his best level. Menchov rode an excellent prologue in Liege and lies sixth overall, 13 seconds behind Swiss Fabian Cancellara, an ideal position before the first mountain stage to La Planche des Belles Filles on Saturday. Denis rode a good prologue and it was a great motivation for the team to know that their leader is on form. La Planche des Belles Filles is the first test for sure. The first litmus test," Piva said. Editing By Alison Wildey The story has been corrected to delete last two paragraphs of copy of incorrect Menchov quotes