“At the end of the day the weren't really riding and that's why we started attacking a little bit – just to soften each other up a little bit and then I picked the right time and got away with the AG2R guy [Minard] but even he wasn't really pulling quite so strong. I figured I'd just go alone and see what I could do but by that time it was already too late. But when you're in the moment, you've got to make the most of it.
“Just getting in a break in the Tour de France isn't easy. You've got to go with the feel; if you go with every single attack, there's no way you'll get in the breakaway. Luckily today it went quite early and easily but often it doesn't. I got in four breakaways in the Vuelta [a España, in 2012] so I kind of got the drill down pat and figured something out. It doesn't go exactly the same way every time but I've at least got that feel. It's a similar vibe every time the breakaway goes: everyone is looking a little bit tired and the last attack seals it. If you can sit back and wait for that feeling and not waste too much energy early then it makes life a lot easier.
“I wasn't going after the ‘Fighting Spirit' award at all. We were trying to win a stage here and I put in the energy all day to be in front so you've got to keep going all the way to the end. If that means you get a consolation prize then that's great but it wasn't what I was after.”
