"From the very first time I got to ride on that climb, I was looking forward to racing here and it came in the Tour de France 2022. At the time, I was giving everything to get back the Yellow Jersey but Jumbo were too strong. I had almost already forgotten about this, I was just looking forward to today, but all the people came telling me it was revenge time and blablabla.
When we approached the bottom of the climb, it was the reverse story. It was one Belgian guy again on the front, but it was Tim [Wellens] and our team was setting the pace. It was a really really hard day and I also had 2022 a bit in the back of my mind. But today we were on the happy side of history. We had this stage in mind for a long time. We did a super job with the team and I’m super happy to win here and to take time on my rivals. Also, chapeau to Ben Healy and EF for trying to defend the jersey, and also Uno-X, who fought for their own GC.
You never know how the body reacts after a crash but it was not too bad a crash. I feel my hip only if I do acrobatics but here I’m just riding my bike.
The Tour is not over. Tomorrow there’s also a time-trial and the next day is another difficult stage, ahead of some tricky days. We need to stay calm and continue with this pace.
This victory also goes to Samuele [Privitera] and his family. [The news of him passing away] was the first thing I read in the morning and I was thinking about him in the last kilometres, and how tough this sport can be and how much pain it can cause."
