“This victory means everything! I’ve been trying to get in since the start of the Tour, that was the goal. In the GC we are very far away, but the hope remained of winning a stage.
I had won stages in the Giro and the Vuelta but the Tour de France is the race with all the best riders in the world. Each team comes with its best set-up and its best squad. I am also happy for all the people who follow me. I’m proud to be here and represent the Americas in the best possible way.
I knew that I was going to be very marked but I got into the group on the descent of the first climb and was the first to get across to Yates who was the one who went for it at the beginning.
I let him have a couple of meters, and waited and waited and knew that those last two kilometers were super hard and that I could make myself a very big gap there that was big enough to get to the line.
Today we arrived here with the plan to win a stage and that’s how it went so I am incredibly happy for that.”
-Richard Carapaz. He becomes the first Ecuadorian rider to win a Tour stage and is the 110th rider for the trilogy of stage wins in all three grand tours.
“Obviously, it was a gamble bringing him here, but ultimately you can see the level of natural talent that guy has. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. From the run in he had before the Tour, which was the worst run in possible, to winning a hard, hard stage in the third week of the race is just incredible. I’m full of admiration for the guy, but also I’m just flabbergasted at how talented he is that he can just bring himself round like that and just the way he played today. Tactically, there were multiple times where it was like, oh no, he’s messed it up or he’s hesitated too long or whatever. He was calmer than we were behind and was measuring things just perfectly and bringing things back just when he needed to. He was actually playing the game perfectly which was impressive to watch.”
-Jonathan Vaughters. EF ProCycling CEO
“We’re pretty stoked. We heard the news on the top of the second last climb. It’s a big relief for everyone. Super happy for Richie and for everyone in the organization. We’re stoked.”
-Sean Quinn
Points jersey update:
“What I’m happiest about today is feeling good the day after my crash. Yesterday, I reassured my team-mates that the crash and the lost points were not catastrophic. Mentally and physically, I feel very strong. That’s the most important thing. From now on, the battle for the green jersey is more psychological. I’m happy to have taken points and increased my lead, and to have demonstrated my strength of character. The closer we get to Nice the stronger I feel with the finish almost in sight. That’s a huge motivating factor.”
-Biniam Girmay. He leads the points classification with 387 pts - 33 points ahead of Jasper Philipsen.
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