Jérémy Roy – “It wasn't to be this time...”

"The disappointment is too great. I'll find it difficult to digest. It doesn’t matter if you win by a little or a lot because it's only the win that counts. I did not really care about the polka-dot jersey when I went in the break, I wanted the stage win. I know I'm not a great champion and I have to do what I can with my ability, so I try and it still failed.
“It's crazy, I did not mean to the day up ahead. It just happened that way. I went to the front of the peloton just to be attentive and just as I got to the front the escape was given some room to move and I just happened to be up the road.
“Then the group was watching Moncoutie the most and this allowed me to go ahead on the [Aubisque] climb before he went on the attack.
“As for the descent – I was over a minute ahead so I thought it was possible. It was only in the valley that it became very difficult. Then, when I heard the gap was down to 30 seconds, I knew it was almost over. It was two against one, plus a headwind. And when I had to take the two climbs near the entrance to Lourdes, it crushed me. I overcooked the engine. It would have taken a miracle for me to win, but it wasn’t to be this time.”