“People will now talk about how I helped Isaac [del Toro] to secure his podium spot, but first it was him who helped me get this Yellow Jersey. The whole team has backed me all Tour long. Nils [Politt] and Florian [Vermeersch] have always been there on the flat. Tim [Wellens] and Felix [Grossschartner] have been our road captains, taking decisions everywhere. Brandon [McNulty] has been helping since the very beginning - we shouldn’t forget him even though he is not here anymore. It’s been an honor to ride for Isaac today, during the last hour and a half of the race. I did it with pleasure, and realised how hard it is to work for somebody else. Crossing the finish line together with him has been memorable.
I have done a really good Tour - the whole team has, indeed. Some of our competitors had bad luck, though. Many things can happen through the three weeks of the Tour de France. We made it through with the team, and now there is just one last show left. Let’s see how I feel tomorrow. I won’t take any risks. Without Wout [van Aert] here, I have one less rival to win in the Champs-Elysées. It isn’t a big goal, but if I have good legs and I don’t have to take too many big risks, I’ll try to claim victory tomorrow.”
