"I am really proud of this win. Beulah Hansgrohe ran the first KOM as fast as she could, and many sprinters had already dropped out. After that it was always hectic and everyone was afraid of the crosswind.

"In the end it proved to be worth putting a lot of energy into positioning. It was a good day for the team. It was a good finish and I can't believe we won."

"I focused on Primoz, but I didn't expect the final result to be so confusing. It was a shame we didn't try from a small group sprint because it was a pretty small group. Everyone sprinted early and I was able to secure the slipstream and find the gap on the right side.

"I didn't think [I could win] this morning. It was a surprise for everyone on the team that the stage was so hard today. It's a great win to end this stage." (Eurosport)

"We had a similar stage in 2013 and we won that time. We pulled the race all day to eliminate the sprinters. This time it was the same, but we didn't win. My teammates did a really great job. It was a decision we all made together. At first the director didn't agree with me, but the race went very well.

"I was unlucky in the sprint because my chain blocked. It was definitely a mechanical issue, but that wasn't all. I was behind Van Aert, but I lost my position and everyone went to the left. I was lucky not to crash. After that it was impossible to get to the front."

. [11th] [12th] "It's a shame because I controlled the race all day. My chain came off in the final and I missed a lot of points. That's cycling." (Eurosport)

"In the end it was a really tough day. From kilometer zero to the finish, there was really no rest. Bora wanted to keep running all day. It would have been nice to get some rest before the Pyrenees, but unfortunately that wasn't possible.

"Both stages are going to be hard; both stages are going to be hard. I'm going to try to hold the lead for as long as I can."

"I knew it was going to be hard in the final section, so I tried to get to the front, but someone crashed in front of me and I ended up in the back when the pack split.

"I tried to close the gap but I was going too fast. The team did everything they could to bring me back and did their best to minimize the loss. It was only a minute or so, not ideal, but I'm not worried. But I'm not worried.

"It wasn't a good day for us because we lost most of the team in the split. We were in a good position in the sprint and then we missed the clip. Right after the start, from the zero kilometer point, the gas pedal was at full throttle and I didn't have time to think." (Eurosport) [23].