Tour de France - Greg van Avermaet extends GC lead with the feet on the ground: I think after tomorrow it will be over
Jul 18 2018 02:18 am CET
Photo of Greg Van Avermaet © Mary Cárdenas / CyclingPub.com
Greg van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team) has successfully defended the Yellow Jersey at the 10th stage of the Tour de France.
The Belgian was part of the breakaway of the day and extended his GC lead in the first day at the Alps. "It was a hard day but two years ago, I also went into the breakaway in the yellow jersey so, it was super nice for me to spend the day in yellow in the mountains," the rider commented at the end of the stage.
"I was waiting to find the right moment and when the big move went, I decided to give it a go and see how Team Sky reacted and they didn't. I had to ride really hard to catch the breakaway but once I was there, and we directly took six to seven minutes, I knew it could be a good day for me."
Van Avermaet wasn't counting on keeping the GC lead for another stage, but he's realistic of what is about to come. "I was not thinking about keeping the jersey at the start of the day but you have to read the race situation and that's what I did," he explained.
"I think I waited for the right moment and got into a big group with guys who were going to try to go for the stage. I was then able to keep the yellow jersey for an extra day. I went really deep today and tomorrow is really a climber's stage and it will be super hard to keep the jersey. I have no intention of trying to keep it. Today was really the only day that I could do it but I think after tomorrow it will be over."
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