Michael Rasmussen - "Everyone who loses time works in my favor..."

“It was very fast and warm from the beginning. The Cote d’Azur turned into a battlefield. There was a lot of attacks going all day long and eventually it came down to a bunch sprint but I think we averaged almost 49km/h so it was much more than just a transitional stage. _ “I wasn’t really surprised by the actions of Astana. I saw the whole team gather together in front of the group right after the feed zone so I was relatively prepared and luckily Denis [Menchov] was also right there; he rode a really good stage today. _ “Moreau lost a lot of time today and I’ve got to see it as though it’s one guy less to concentrate on in the mountains so it’s good for me. Everyone who loses time works in my favor. _ “I wouldn’t say I’m looking forward to the time trial, rather the prospect of being done with it is something I’m thinking about. I’m looking forward to the Pyrenees, that’s for sure. Today was a bit stressful; there was a lot of wind and it was obviously a very fast stage. There were a lot of people on the road and not all them are too experienced at being cycling spectators, so it’s a little more dangerous riding down here in the holiday season.”