“It has been an incredible day. I would have never imagined this kind of outcome seeing how the second week began. I’m super happy with my shape. It was a super hard and super hot day, and I normally struggle a bit with warm weather. My team did a super job with all the cooling down strategies. Visma decided to control the race today and set a hard pace on the climbs. It was fair racing, and it sat well with us as we had already created some meaningful gaps yesterday. I was never worried - all I cared about was keeping myself cool, hydrating and eating enough. The Visma team knew that the final climb was so steep that using somebody’s slipstream was not so influential, and they were probably hoping that I wouldn’t survive Jonas’ strong pace all the way to the finish. I was a bit on the limit when he first attacked, but afterwards I could feel he was suffering a bit. He tried to drop me one more time and I saw he didn’t have the legs to do it, so I gave it a go myself even though I was aware I might crack as well. Luckily, it went well. The Tour GC is looking really good right now. We have a comfortable lead and just need to keep focused on these final six days of racing. I have won a lot of stages in the Pyrenees. Somehow I like these mountains, and it is reciprocal! As for Plateau de Beille in particular, Adam Yates had told me this was the hardest climb he had ever done and I’m very glad I could win here.”
