"It’s been a long time since I last won in the Tour! I’m glad to be back here. It’s a great year for me after the Giro victory.
I also was not really expecting opportunities here. I’m focused on Jonas [Vingegaard] for the GC. Even today, we wanted to be up there to try things and race aggressively. The morale is good. We took a small hit, let’s say, after the TT, but that’s how it goes in cycling. You take it on the chin and move forward. Today, it played out in a way that I could be there for the stage and I took it with both hands.
My initial feeling was relief because I was really running out of legs and thought I would get caught on the line. I didn’t feel like it up there. It was a really hard start to make the break, there was a lot of strong guys. That’s why I took an advantage in the final corners before the climb started. I was looking for a bit of a head start.
With EF Education-EasyPost riding for the Yellow Jersey, we had almost a free ride to the final climb and then I just tried to do my best. Victor Campenaerts has been super strong, not only today but since the start of the Tour, putting in a lot of work and he was essential also in the finale. The whole team is being really strong."
