"Today’s stage was really hard, especially as it was the last of second week of this Tour de France. We expected attacks today. Ineos Grenadiers put a hard pace really soon. Anyway, I felt good, and I wasn’t worried at all about the last climb. I just needed to follow the other riders there, as I did. My team did a great job at protecting me all day long, providing me with everything I needed. The key today was to keep myself hydrated, to have water available all the time, and my teammates did that job perfectly. Today’s stage has been one of the hottest of the Tour de France, that’s for sure. Although I’m looking forward for the rest of the race, I hope I can sleep for very long on tomorrow’s rest day!"
