Tour de France stage 10 reactions: Tadej Pogacar, Hugo Houle, Nairo Quintana, Wout van Aert
Jul 07 2021 08:19 am CET
Tour de France
The tenth stage of the Tour de France has been won by Mark Cavendish, while the Yellow Jersey stays in the hands of Tadej Pogacar.
The stage was once again suitable for a fast finale and Cavendish took there his 33rd victory in the race. The peloton arrived together to the finish line, without much trouble, as one day later is the expected stage of the Mont Ventoux, where they will have to face twice the iconic mountain.
Here are some reactions of the riders after the end of the 10th stage:
Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates, leader of GC):
"It was not an easy day in the end. It was windy for most of the stage, but on the last 20 kilometres there was a bit more of a headwind. It was quite restful in between accelerations. I’ve been able to relax and eat well, and later I will catch a good massage. So that’s one stage less to worry about. I have gone to the Mont Ventoux only once, just before this Tour de France. There were so many fans there on a normal day that I can’t imagine how crowded it will be tomorrow. I’m looking forward to racing there. It will be a long, hard, hot day. We will see how the hot weather affects me tomorrow. I’ve trained for it, so I feel prepared."
Hugo Houle (Astana-Premier Tech, winner of the 10th stage combativity award):
"It wasn’t planned for me to be part of the early break. I just saw a Lotto-Soudal rider going on the attack and I decided to join him. The real idea behind my move was that there might be fireworks on the climb, maybe some battle behind that would help someone to catch us from the bunch... but it didn’t happen. Besides, we knew we stood no chances with such a strong wind. It is so hard to beat a team like Deceuninck-Quick Step when they are chasing you... Anyway, it was nice to be at the front of the race - especially when we got some tailwind! I enjoyed my day, appreciating people cheering for us from the roadside. The combativity prize is fine, but my real goal at this race is to win a stage for my brother."
Nairo Quintana (Arkea-Samsic, leader of the KOM classification):
"This has been a very quiet day for me, although my team has worked hard for looking for the win with Nacer [Bouhanni]. The wind was blowing a lot in the final part, therefore I disconnected in the last kilometres and I just made it safely to the finish line. I have bookmarked tomorrow’s stage. I’ll look once again at scoring the maximum KOM points possible. I like the Mont Ventoux. I’ve raced up there a few times, and I’ve always done pretty well. I hope tomorrow will be a big day."
Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma):
"The final was fun! I'm glad I was so close to victory and I hope I can still beat Cavendish. In this sprint there wasn't a real disadvantage to start from Cavendish's wheel. Bit I couldn't get past. Half a wheel was missing. Especially for Eddy [Merckx, whose stage victory record is at risk], I will of course try to win the next sprints (laughs)."
Tour de France stage 10 reactions: Tadej Pogacar, Hugo Houle, Nairo Quintana, Wout van Aert https://t.co/nuVmOdsY3P#TDF2021
— CyclingPub (@CyclingPub) July 7, 2021
?A.S.O./Charly Lopez pic.twitter.com/nLxXQnDmTT
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