Christian Guiberteau
“The start of the day was good, there was breakaway and there was control over the bunch. There was not more wind than yesterday but it became hectic, very hectic. Marcel just came back of a mechanical problem and was in the back of the bunch when it happened. Omega Pharma – Quick-Step started the move and we tried to respond for Kittel with Timmer, Geschke, Frohlinger, Dumoulin in the second group while De Kort, Veelers and Degenkolb were in the first group. The second group came really close, but just didn’t make it, than the flat of Valverde did not make it easier because the GC teams in the first group put the hammer down. In the final, we still had the card of Degenkolb to play. But then Saxobank came with a good move and surprised John. They accelerated very fast in half a minute and then it was too late, we tried to chase with Veelers but did not make it back. A great day for the cycling fan, but not for us.”
Marcel Kittel
“When the move came from Omega Pharma – Quick-Step, I was in the back of the bunch because of a problem with my chain. It was a pity because today was a chance again for us. We almost came back at one point to the first group, but we didn’t make it. At that point we knew it would be difficult to come back and so it was. I thank my team mates for the support. We will get another opportunity again.”
Koen de Kort
“It was hard today, we lost Marcel at the first part and were left with Tom Veelers, John Degenkolb and myself in the first group. The GC teams tried to keep their riders out the wind, so it was a big fight in the first group. We expected a move but weren’t prepared right at that moment when Team Saxobank attacked. We put Tom Veelers in the chase but we couldn’t come back anymore unfortunately. Not a good day for us; a pity.”
Large-scale, iron heavy attack from Saxo-Tinkoff paid off
What on paper looked like a quite affordable day for the GC riders in the Tour de France developed on today’s 173 km long 13 stage first for an exciting showdown between the race second in the standings, Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano) in the chase group and Belkin crew, who before the stage had Bauke Mollema in third place in the field.
On the windy and quite flat distance between Tours and Saint Amand Montrond, the peloton exploded, and when Valverde had a defect, there was no mercy from rivals. The situation was exploited by Europcar, Omega Pharma Quick Step and Belkin, who turned the pace up further, as Valverde was in trouble. As the stage progressed, the front group with Alberto Contador wore thinner and thinner, while several small groups hurtled away in the wild speeds that were run at the front.
With 30 kilometers to go attack Team Saxo-Tinkoff pulled leader Chris Froome back with 1.09 minutes, while Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) won the stage.
Saxo-Tinkoff’s Fabrizio Guidi says: “We knew that the stage contained opportunities for attack, but it was only at about 30 kilometers to go, the we pressed the accelerator when the right moment materialized, we figured that we could keep the pressure all the way to the finish line. But with such a strong team like ours did it all to get a minute on Froome on a flat stage, and I’m really proud to have contributed to today’s holding. It gives us a moral boost, and a reinforced belief that it can become even more since we are only just over halfway over. For the same reason, we must keep feet on the ground and stay focused. There are severe stages along the way, and we must continue to be at the forefront, “said Saxo-Tinkoff’s sporting director, Fabrizio Guidi. Saxo-Tinkoff’s Alberto Contador is now third in the standings, while teammate Roman Kreuziger is number four. The team also leads the team competition.
