Thibaut Pinot: "The second place overall seems reachable"

“It's a fantastic day. My goal today was to take the white jersey and gain time over my adversaries, namely Alejandro Valverde and Romain Bardet. I felt great. I had my best legs at the Tour so far, so I had to take profit from it. I wanted to try something. I've wanted to accelerate up to the Port de Balès when I've realized I could drop Van Garderen and Bardet off. Team work has been great. For instance, having Jérémy Roy on my side after he stepped down from the breakaway was precious. It was the plan that I'd do the downhill with him. In the fight for the white jersey, I've gained 1.30 over Bardet and I'm stronger than him in time trialing in theory. But I have to stay calm because a bad day is always possible at the Tour. I have to gain more time over Valverde and Van Garderen. The second place overall seems reachable. But it won't be easy to make Valverde crack. He never loses much time. Péraud is maybe even more of a threat as he's a true specialist of time trialing.”