"This is just a fairytale, a dream come true. Had you told me before the Tour de France that I was going to be here, in the Yellow Jersey after winning a stage earlier on, I wouldn’t have believed it.
It wasn’t exactly the plan. We were surprised that UAE Team Emirates let such a big break up the road, and we took advantage of it by putting four riders in there. I have to say a big thank you to my teammates Neilson Powless, Alex Baudin and Harry Sweeny because, without them, getting the Yellow Jersey would have been impossible. At some point, the stage became a fight against myself. I know I was taking some risks by digging so deep for so long but how often does an opportunity like this come around? It was pretty nerve-wrecking to wait for four minutes in order to find out whether I was in yellow or not. Had Tadej [Pogacar] raced all the way to the top of the final climb, I might have a different jersey now.
I’m super proud to represent Ireland. This success is still sinking in, and I’m pretty emotional. From now on, I will turn my focus towards the GC in order to respect the Yellow Jersey and try to keep it for as long as possible."
