"I can’t really believe it. To be honest, I just wanted to experience the Tour, the biggest race in the world, after some good results in the Giro and the Vuelta. Now, to win a stage in my first Tour, and to do it this way, it’s unbelievable, crazy.
I was already at the Giro this year, and I got sick after the race. I still had a good preparation for the Tour. I had to be patient in the first week, waiting for the mountains. And on the first opportunity, I was 2nd at Le Mont-Dore, which was already an amazing experience in my first Tour, but this is unbelievable. I just had amazing legs. I have the shape of my life.
When I heard the gap with the GC group on Peyresourde, I thought 3 minutes against Tadej [Pogacar] and Jonas [Vingegaard] was not enough, so I had to move. Maybe it would prove to be suicide but I had to try. I can’t believe I pulled it off. I was fading on the second part of the climb but the spectators gave me extra watts."
