Tony Gallopin: "The emotion is stronger than for the yellow jersey"

“Have I become another rider? No. I don't think so. I always try to follow my path but I don't attack enough. I often focus on riders like Sagan and I finish 5th, 6th… I should always ride the way I did in San Sebastian last year. I have an inferiority complex in relation to the best riders. My attacks in today's finale weren't planned. I had sore legs all day. This morning I was convinced that the breakaway would work. I came for a training camp in Les Rousses not far from here with my father Joël and my fiancé Marion [Rousse]. We rode the course of today's stage but not the last five kilometers at the entrance of Oyonnax so when I felt better with 20km to go, I called my team car to ask [Lotto-Belisol team manager] Marc Sergeant to show me the road book. It gave me some ideas. It would be a finale in between punchers. I didn't want another sprint of 20 or 30 riders like in Sheffield or Nancy. I tried my luck in the small hill that wasn't categorized but I knew it. When the three guys came across [Sagan, Kwiatkowski, Rogers], I knew I had no chance to beat them in a sprint, so I had to go again. To win a stage and to take the yellow jersey deliver different feelings. The Maillot Jaune, I was thinking about for five before I got it. I had mentalized it. But today, until one hundred metres to go, I didn't believe I could win, so the emotion is stronger than for the yellow jersey. I felt more lost after the finish today. From the team car, I heard ‘go' a few times, and ‘don't look back' but I did with 100 metres to go. That's when I realized. It was fantastic! It could sound pretentious but I'm not surprised by my performances at the Tour de France. I've always had the confidence of my relatives and my team. Before the Tour, Marc Sergeant had been clear: I was here to help but also to look for a stage win. It wasn't easy. The level is high but I'm a consistent rider. I'm often in the shadow of the big names but I was expecting to come out of it. It's a dream come true. I've experienced so mixed feelings in a couple of days: I was over the moon when I took the yellow jersey, the next day was a nightmare on the bike and now I'm a Tour de France stage winner. It's incredible.”