"It was quite okay in the bunch today but with the echelons attempts in the finale, I didn’t get any drink in the last 60 kilometres, so I was a bit overheated. Apart from that, it was quite okay today although it was nervous.
Five minutes and a half was a lot and the pace was quite high. So we participated in the chase. Even Remco [Evenepoel] chipped in. He was really strong. Normally, I help him. But in situations like that, he doesn’t feel the legs and he can move up easily. We tried to protect each other as much as possible in the echelons but I guess he helped me more today than the other way around! He was really disappointed yesterday after my puncture. There’s a great atmosphere in the team and it pays off.
In the last two kilometres, I found Bert [Van Lerberghe] again, and I’m really confident when I’m on his wheel. I know what he’s gonna do and it makes me relax. I got boxed in a bit but then I managed to go all in and I was able to do my sprint like I wanted to and I’m happy to win my second stage here.
It’s the second time I manage to beat Milan but he’s a really strong sprinter. It’s just nice we can show a nice battle between the two of us."
