"It’s been a special day. It took a lot of hard work to win another stage at the Tour de France. This is a wonderful victory. I dedicate it to my family. This is the most rewarding thing for me: knowing that the work I put in has paid off.
We’d tried several times to win from the breakaway, but it had proved impossible. Today’s stage was very tough. Soudal Quick-Step launched an unusual attack with three riders and I was ready to slip through. That was the decisive moment in getting to the front of the race. This final climb was tough and suited my strengths well. I bided my time; I tried a couple of times… and the best thing is that I was able to enjoy the victory.
This was a hard-fought victory, but just as tough as the first one. It gets harder every year to win here. The reward is here and now I just have to enjoy it. The team and I knew what we were coming here for and what our strengths were to achieve our goals. Today has been a special day for us, because we’ve been chasing this win for the last three weeks and it’s finally happened. We’re very happy."
