Quick Step’s French champion attacks on the race’s first big mountain on his country’s national day
Having passed a miserable few days, nursing the injuries he sustained in a crash on stage five, Quick Step’s Sylvain Chavanel is beginning to feel better. The French champion attacked, in the company of then polka-dot jersey wearer Johnny Hoogerland (Vacansoleil-DCM), on the Hourquette d'Ancizan, the very first big mountain of the race.
"Today at the start I felt better than I had been these past few days, even if I don’t have the pedal stroke of my best days,” said the French champion. “When I got the chance I jumped onto Hoogerland’s wheel, on the first category climb. Then [Roman] Kreuziger joined us.”
Chavanel and Hoogerland were dropped one by one by the Astana rider as he tried to get across to the six-man break up the road. For Chavanel though, the important thing was to display his tricolore on France’s national day.
“We made a good move, but to be honest I was pedalling more with my head than with my legs,” he explained. “It meant a lot to me to show the jersey on the quatorze juillet. I hope my fans appreciated it. In these next few days I’m going to try again if I get the chance. Congratulations to my teammate [De Weert, today he rode a great race.”
Quick Step’s overall classification rider Kevin De Weert was also seen off the front of the race, briefly distancing the race favourites on the final climb to Luz-Ardiden.
"I’m happy with my race,” De Weert said. “On the Tourmalet I felt really good, also thanks to the work of my team mates. Niki ]Terpstra[, Sylvain and Jeje ]Jérôme Pineau[ did a great job.
“On the climb towards Luz Ardiden the group had a moment of hesitation and everyone slowed down,” he explained. “I opted to maintain my pace and I got a few seconds’ lead. I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the best guns at the moment when the battle for stage victory got under way.”
Although he was unable to hold the pace of the final attacks, De Weert finished 2’10” behind in 19th place.
“I’m satisfied, though,” he said. “The first climbing test went as I’d expected it to. Tomorrow’s going to be another hard day, but now’s no time for quitting.”
De Weert’s ride has lifted him up to eleventh place, 5’07” behind race leader Thomas Voeckler (Europcar), lifting him ahead of stage one winner Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto), making him the best-placed Belgian in the race.
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