Alexander Kristoff: "The Tour is already beyond my expectation"

"After I won [stage 12] the other day, Thor Hushovd sent me a text message saying ‘nine to go' [Hushovd has won ten stages of the Tour de France in total], so now it's eight to go! It's a lot and maybe too much. I didn't expect to win two stages in the same Grand Tour so I can't see any further. It's still hard to compare stage wins at the Tour and Milan-San Remo but it would be great to win in Paris as well. Normally I'm not the fastest sprinter on the flat against André Greipel and Marcel Kittel but I'm lighter than them. Possibly that turned to my advantage today. I didn't see them being tired during the stage but the fact that I beat them make me think that they're tired after climbing in the Alps. I also didn't feel super but I had to try anyway. [Team-mate] Luca [Paolini] did a great job, also Gatis [Smukulis] in pulling the peloton. Maybe with [Alexander] Porsev, had he still been at the Tour, it would have been easier but today, it depended more or less on the legs in the finale. Luckily, I had the best ones. Omega Pharma-Quick Step was very active in the finale. They were attacking a lot. It broke up the trains a bit. That also turned to my advantage but that was close at the end. I didn't have the situation under control. I was just happy to see the two breakaway riders caught. They made a huge effort. I feel sorry for them. What they did was impressive. Shall I win in Paris too, it would make it a perfect Tour. I've been performing all year long but my form hasn't been stable really. My wins in Oman and in Frankfurt after my post-classics break were due to a bit of luck. I've had good classics and now the Tour de France is going beyond expectations for me. I hope it'll continue like that. We'll draw conclusions at the end of the season and I'll build the rest of my career on these successes. My coach says I'll keep improving. I'm not sure how much I can still improve. I'm only 27 so I have a few good years ahead. I'll work hard to get a bit better but don't expect me to win the Tour de France overall."