The Bird Flew: 'Chicken' Rasmussen pulls off a great coup
Although his form has been a little less consistent this Tour than during the 2005 edition, Michael Rasmussen pressed the rewind button to great effect on Wednesday to dominate the second Alpine stage of this year’s Tour. Rasmussen went clear on the first climb of the day with two other riders, Sandy Casar (Française des Jeux) and Tadej Valjavec (Lampre-Fondital), building up a large lead over the peloton and then taking maximum points on each of the day’s four mountains. Brecht Decaluwé reports from La Toussuire.
As he did on Sunday July 10th, 2005, Rasmussen laid the foundations for a probable victory in the Grand Prix de la Montagne classification today and also took the stage win. It confirms the climbing talent he showed last year and achieves the two goals he had set himself prior to the race start. Cyclingnews’ Brecht Decaluwé was at his post-stage press conference and heard what the great Dane had to say.
Q: This was a great victory, and obviously you were a bit overwhelmed after the finish. We saw you were a bit emotional during an interview with Danish television. Could you tell us what you felt when crossing the line.
MR: This year, I’ve been riding in service of the team because we still have a contender for the yellow jersey. But yesterday did not go the way we wanted, obviously. After the stage, I spoke with the team management and said that I would do it my way today and see what would happen. It’s difficult not to be overwhelmed by emotions. 90% of my season covers the three mountains stages of yesterday, today and tomorrow. So for me it is very important to perform during these three days.
