"I’m "dead". This is of course a very big disappointment, and definitely not what I wanted at the start of the stage. I don’t know what happened to me. I tried to eat as much as possible but nothing went to my legs. Everything stayed in my stomach. I was really empty after 3h30m, at the bottom of the Col de la Loze climb. Had I not had such great support in the climb, I may have lost the podium. I kept fighting with Marc [Soler]. I’m grateful to him, and to all my teammates.
My crash came from a very unlucky situation. The break was taking off when some guy braked just in front of me and I clipped his wheel. Shit happens. My knee doesn’t hurt too much because of the crash – just a little bit. But I don’t know how it might have affected me. I think I was much better in the Granon stage, so I have to say that this has been one of the worst days of my life on the bike. But I had to keep fighting, so Marc Soler really pushed me to my limit and we made it to the finish. I hope to recover over the next two days. We can for the stage win in stage 20. It can be a good day to aim for the victory. The team was super strong today. If we can get a stage win there, it could be great. That and keeping the podium with me and Adam would be a good finish."
