"I've got a nice lead on GC, but considering tomorrow's stage to Hautacam and the time trial, as I was feeling good, I've preferred to go and gain a few more seconds and be even more serene, just in case something would happen. Giovanni Visconti was ahead. In the past few days, I've seen him pedaling better and better. After the bad accident he had in Australia [in January], it's good for his morale. He might win something in the near future too. I don't know exactly what's happening in Sicily with regards to my performances at the Tour but I bet it makes everyone happy. I know that more and more talented young riders are coming up and try to go and show their cycling skills in Tuscany and Lombardy. In Sicily there should be more sponsors to invest in cycling. Young riders deserve it as they're inspired by champions like Visconti and I who are fighting for winning at the Tour de France.
Today I've tried to keep as many team-mates as possible with me until the last climb in case of attacks from far. Scarponi and Westra were there for me. Iglinskiy and Grivko worked hard in Peyresourde. Kangert was on my side in the final climb. Yesterday, you [the journalists] said that I had no team, today the team was there.
My condition is very good. I've looked at pushing on my pedals until the very end but also thinking of the day after. Had riders like Froome and Contador still been here racing, I might have been forced to push more and race in a more conservative way. When those riders attack, they are very explosive. I know them well and I have a great respect for them. I've raced more against Contador than Froome who has been around for three years only.
I'm not surprised to see French riders performing well. When I came to the Tour two years ago, Pinot won a stage and finished with us, Wiggins, Froome and me, at La Toussuire. There's a generation of French riders who improve a lot, year after year.
It's true that I received a text message from [Italian Prime Minister] Matteo Renzi who invited me to the Chigi Palace to celebrate my victory. I've replied that only after winning, if I do so, I'll be able to say that I'll be present. I was pleased by his message. It means he's interested in sport. Many times the national team has been invited in Rome by the President after the success of Paolo Bettini at the world championship.
When I was a kid, I grew up watching cycling on TV, so it was the time of Marco Pantani. But my father also had a great passion for cycling. He had documentaries and he recorded races. That made Francesco Moser my idol, because of the innovation he brought into cycling, even though I was too young to have followed his career."
