Cancellara – “They've been nervous stages and exceptional ones...”

“It was a stage of mixed emotions. On one hand, it’s very pleasing because I got the yellow jersey back and also Andy gained time on his rivals. It was a great day when it came to the work of a sensational team. We had an opportunity to get the most out of ourselves and we chose to do that but there was a major negative aspect that I cannot ignore: losing Fränk. We could call this an homage. It’s not pleasurable… it’s a great pity to see a team-mate and a friend crash out of the Tour. But everyone was aware that his was going to be a day of danger and we had to get through the Tour day by day. We were ready… but there was nothing that could be done to stop the crash. That’s sport, that’s cycling: some days you win, some days you lose.
“It’s special to be able to take back the yellow jersey, especially here in Arenberg. With regard to defending it, we’ll assess it this evening but we’ve just finished three exceptional stages – three very tough days. They’ve been very nervous stages and very important ones: first the day from Holland to Belgium with huge crowds, then the day to Spa and then today’s which was always highly anticipated. Now we can calm down a little and play for a sprint in stage four. It’s what we can expect from the next couple of days and I should be able to keep the lead until the mountains when we’ll reassess and work for Andy.”