"When we got caught by the favorite's group, it was complicated. I didn't manage to go with them on the steep part. Gino Mader then bridged us back up and although I couldn't follow them when they attacked, I held on. A little over a kilometer from the finish I saw they were looking at each other and playing games. I came in with speed and got enough of a gap to make it to the line. I was lucky.
It's a little bit unexpected. In the past three weeks I have had some ups and downs, and yesterday I was not well at all. I didn't expect to play a role at the front of the race today but ended up in the break with Lilian Calmejane and Stan Dewulf, two teammates that I really like. They helped me a lot so I shouldn't miss out. It's really cool, I'm surprised. And to win in front of top riders makes it even more fun."
-Clément Champoussin.
"What a day! Clément Champoussin produced an incredible performance which rewards the hard work of the whole team since the start of La Vuelta a Espana. The guys went full gas for three weeks and it hadn't paid off yet. Today we still had three riders able to get into the breakaway. Lilian Calmejane finished 12th and Stan Dewulf 14th on the stage, Geoffrey Bouchard and Clément Champoussin are respectively 16th and 18th in the general classification, the whole team deserves this victory."
-Julien Jurdie. DS AG2R CITROEN TEAM
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