"In the end, I found myself in the front even though I didn’t have the energy to motivate myself today. I was really happy they neutralised the times of the GC. Then it was more relaxed to race and you just had to have good legs to be in front. I tried but hats off to Wout [van Aert], he was incredibly strong. It was a really nice race.
I’m just speechless with my fourth win in the Tour de France. It’s six years in a row on the podium and this one feels especially amazing. I’m super proud that I can wear this Yellow Jersey.
It’s hard to say how and where I won this Tour. It starts with how we race with the team, with a great atmosphere, a great spirit. We went fighting from day 1 and after Mûr-de-Bretagne on stage 5 I knew I had good legs to compete for the victory. We just kept on fighting and then I think the second week was the decisive moment, taking more advantage. We went more comfortably into the third week.
I spoke with Jonas Vingegaard in the neutral start. We talked about how much racing against each other has changed us in the past five years. We raise each other’s level much higher, we push ourselves to the limit to try to beat each other. Battling against Jonas was again a tough experience. I must say respect to him and congratulations on his fight and incredible race.
Now is time to celebrate. Everybody has different ideas about how to celebrate. I want some peace and beautiful weather, enjoying some quiet days at home."
