Reactions from the Tour's Stage 7
Overall riders all feeling the heat ahead of first high mountain
Jens Voigt (Saxo Bank) – 87th on stage, 138th overall @ 32:36: "We worked a bit in the beginning until Bbox took things in their hands. In the last climb, Fabian wasn't too well, and he got dropped together with some riders of our team, such as myself. We already knew this morning that it would be difficult to keep the jersey with Fabian. The Tour just took its toll on him. Seven days of hard work; remember how he rode in the stage to Arenberg? He's just tired, like everyone."
Alberto Contador (Astana) – 13th on stage, 6th overall @ 2:26: "Between us leaders, things were 'tranquilo'. Everybody looked for their own feelings. The team did a good job, and in the last climb we put on a regular tempo to not lose too much time on the escape. For sure, tomorrow will be different as the stage is harder. I am happy with how things are going. My legs work well. Now, I have to recover as much as possible for tomorrow."
Damiano Cunego (Lampre) – 43rd on stage, 105th overall @ 25:17: “I knew that this stage was a good chance for me to try and get a good result, so when Voeckler attacked I understood that it was the best moment to escape from the bunch. I tried to attack but every time my opponents rejoined me and then, when Chavanel performed his move, I was not so brilliant any more. Tomorrow the stage will be very tough, also because the top riders will battle for the yellow jersey. If it isn’t possible to attack there I’ll try again in the coming stages knowing that my fitness will increase. I need to decrease the disappointment from today’s stage with a good performance.”
Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Transitions) – 8th on stage, 3rd overall @ 1:32: “Today was great. The team took care of me really well all day and it was perfect to have Johan there in the final. I am really pleased with my Tour so far and we will see what tomorrow brings. For everything we’ve gone through as a team at this Tour, I’m really proud of what we’ve done so far. We’ll just keep taking it day by day.”
Linus Gerdemann (Team Milram) – 12th on stage, 33rd overall @ 5:19: “Right after the penultimate climb I heard over radio that Christian Knees was having trouble in the escape group. I immediately picked up the pace of the favorites' group with an attack. They reacted immediately and the peloton split. On the final climb I felt quite good. I am satisfied with my placing.”
Luis León Sánchez (Caisse d’Epargne) – 19th on stage, 13th overall @ 3:11: “This was our first contact with the mountains and it was not an easy one; not so much for the difficulty of the route but principally because of the hot weather. Even if I am used to such high temperatures in Murcia and as a consequence use to riding in similar conditions, I have been suffering from the heat like everybody else. The first week has been a very difficult one. I believe that a surprise is possible tomorrow. Anything can happen. As for me I shall try not to lose too much time while climbing to Morzine. I want to keep on seeing what happens day after day in this Tour.”
Carlos Sastre (Cervelo Test Team) – 38th on stage, 26th overall @ 4:05: “I felt good. It has been a hard day but I got through it without any problems and I’m happy with the final result. This first mountain stage, or I should say medium-mountain stage, has been a tough one. There were climbs and descents throughout, the roads were bumpy and the tarmac was coming loose and getting stuck in the wheels. It was also a very hot day, so all in all it was a pretty hard and very tiring stage in this year’s Tour de France.”
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Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas-Doimo) – 21st on stage, 12th overall @ 3:10: "That was a hard and painful day, but positive for the reaction of my legs. The pace kept by Astana and Bouygues Telecom prevented any attacks firstly, while the heat did the rest. In years past I had never found a sun so strong in the mountains.”
Christian Knees (Team Milram) – 62nd on stage, 59th overall @ 12:19: “Our goal today was to be in the group. We had speculated that the peloton would not work together on the day before the first hard mountain stage on Sunday, but unfortunately, Bbox, which probably was planning something, took the initiative.”
Thor Hushovd (Cervelo Test Team) – 179th on stage, 94th overall @ 22:32: “I was struggling today on the climbs, but that’s normal. It was the first day in the mountains and it was very hot once again. I got into the gruppetto and just finished as best I could. I kept the green jersey, and that’s the most important thing. None of my rivals took points. On days like this, you just need to conserve your energy and get through it. I know it’s going to be hard to win the green jersey. It’s a long way to go. I just have to keep fighting.”
Daniel Lloyd (Cervelo Test Team) – 149th on stage, 159th overall @ 40:39: “We’ve left behind the flat stages for awhile and now we will concentrate on helping Carlos. We want to keep him out of trouble these next few days. I am not sure it’s a time to be too offensive because the final week is very difficult. My job will come early in the stages, on the flatter parts of the stages and on the early climbs.”
Team/sport directors
Lampre’s Maurizio Piovani: “This morning Danilo Hondo told me that Pineau would attack and so he did: Hondo was paying attention to him and was able to get into the breakaway. Danilo’s target was to last as long as possible in order to help Cunego later on the last climb. When he was joined by Damiano, Hondo supported him for two kilometres, but Chavanel was no longer reachable.”
Garmin-Transitions’ Matt White: “It was another good day for the team. Ryder looked strong and produced another good ride, and the rider of the day was Johan van Summeren. He looked after Ryder all day and was there for him in the final. Tomorrow’s a tough day and will be a real test. We’ll see how it goes but whatever happens, we’ll be part of the action.”
