Cancellara: I have to stay out of trouble...

“When you have the leader’s jersey there are always things going on – from the morning until the end of the day, it’s on. In the race you have to concentrate on a lot of things and in a way it’s enjoyable but in a way it also takes some energy. I’m used to that but still I was happy that we had it a bit easier at the beginning.
“Some say that I was keeping an eye on Bradley Wiggins but I was actually watching out for myself because I have to stay out of trouble, just like Bradley does, just like Cadel has to... like a lot of other riders are doing as well. There are always two competitions for a final like this: there are the GC contenders, the guys going for the leader’s jersey, and plus you have the sprinters. That’s the battle. On one side is the GC riders and on the other side of the road are the sprinters. That’s always a challenge and, at times, there can be a misunderstanding of what’s going on.
“Today it was an easy start, then a bit faster until the feedzone... and then the last quarter was really fast because everyone has good legs – and that means that instead of everyone going 55km/h, they’re going 65! That’s why everything is more tricky and dangerous. It’s like kamikaze in the final kilometers.”