Reactions from the Tour's Stage 6

Thor Hushovd (Cervelo Test Team) – 10th on stage, 7th overall @ 1:16: "It's a pity to not be up there. It just didn't work out today. I would like to be in top five or eight going into the last kilometre, when I crossed the finish line, I didn't even feel like I was sprinting. These things are sometimes confusing but I was too far off the back. The last kilometre was very technical and I lost the wheel of Brett Lancaster."

Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre) – 3rd on stage, 121st overall @ 12:34: "The team performed good work, we were united and each of my teammates had the energy to support me in the long straights before the last kilometre and in the dangerous bends in the last 1000 metres. The other teams too showed a good sprint organisation and so there was battle. I wanted to prepare a long sprint, but I didn't find the necessary space, so I tried to recover in the last 100 metres."

Gerald Ciolek (Team Milram) – 5th on stage, 123rd overall @ 12:39: "The finale course was full of turns and was very hectic. I couldn't come further forward because of the curves. Only in the last 200 metres could I really sprint, but by then it wasn't enough."

Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team) – 22nd on stage, 3rd overall @ 0:39: "I'm quite tired, but tomorrow is a new race. Everything is going to start to change around tomorrow and Sunday is going to be a real shuffle-up going into the Pyrenees. I imagine if Fabian Cancellara's motivated by that [he might retain the leader's jersey. It depends on what the other teams want to do and if they want to eliminate him. I think Cancellara has the better chance of making it than Geraint Thomas, in reality."

Linus Gerdemann (Team Milram) – 36th on stage, 77th overall @ 4:33: "It was a very quiet day. It was obvious shortly after the start that the group would stay away a long time. We concentrated on the finale today. Tomorrow we have mountains and so the chances increase for a stage win by one of our other riders. Our team is in good shape for the upcoming difficult stages."

Carlos Sastre (Cervelo Test Team) – 112th on stage, 46th overall @ 3:19: "We’re going to reach the mountains tomorrow for the first time in this year's Tour de France and we'll see what kind of shape we're in. I'm not bad. I cannot say yet if I am good, but at least I am not bad. I am not feeling any pain in my back, which is very important. I have some bruises on my ribs from my crash on the cobblestones, but I have no difficulty breathing. We'll just see how it goes in the Alps. I haven't planned anything special. I wasn't able to train like I wanted to before this Tour, so I am just taking it day-by-day. We can reassess things after the Alps."

Team/sport directors

Cervelo Test Team's Jean-Paul van Poppel: "The first week of the Tour has been very successful for us. We've done the maximum we could considering the amount of crashes and problems in the race, not just with our team, but throughout the bunch. That maybe cost us a few good results, but we won a stage. The victory with Thor on the cobblestones is one of the most historical stages. We have the green jersey, but the fight is just beginning. There are a lot of riders who look motivated for the green jersey. Carlos is looking strong. It's important that he doesn't lose time to the favorites this weekend in the Alps. We're still focused on doing a good GC with Carlos."