Winner, winner: Thor Hushovd (Cervelo TestTeam) might have been held back a day earlier, but there was no stopping the Norwegian champion as cruised to stage victory. (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team) – 3rd on stage, 3rd overall @ 39 seconds: "Just to get through it as a GC rider – and get through it without losing any time – was all that I wanted. They weren't going to let me go anywhere. I'm not quite built for the cobbles. With the wind and everything, there wasn't any chance for any big heroics. Twenty seconds isn't going to mean much after the Pyrenees, but a little bit is better than nothing."
Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) – 8th on stage, 14th overall @ 1:49: "It was carnage but we knew it was going to be carnage, we've known for seven months it would be carnage - and it was carnage. We ended up on the right side of [the crashes] this time and we're back in business. This is the Tour and we're only on day three, there's a long way to go, but it was a good day today. Now we'll focus on tomorrow."
Carlos Sastre (Cervelo TestTeam) – 54th on stage, 48th overall @ 3:19: "I was up in front the whole time until the penultimate stretch where a rider fell in front of me in one of the few bends and I just couldn't dodge him. I had pretty bad luck as both my wheels broke, but luckily my teammate Brett Lancaster was with me and leant me his wheels so that I could get back into it. In that stretch a large group that had been riding behind caught up with me and I reached the finish line with them, losing as little time as possible."
Linus Gerdemann (Team Milram) – 98th on stage, 79th overall @4:33: "Two crashes with tyre damage threw me back three kilometres before the finish. Up until then I could stay up with the others and was doing well. Looking back at the results of the stage, I had the chance to improve myself in the general rankings. That is irritating."
Roger Kluge (Team Milram) – 140th on stage, 173rd overall @ 23:00: "I had hoped to be in a group in order to avoid all the confusion and to look for my chance. After the first cobblestone section, the stage was over for us escapees. There was an unbelievable atmosphere along the course."
Team directors
Cervelo TestTeam's Jean-Paul van Poppel: "This is a great victory. This is the stage we wanted the most. Everyone on the team knew what they had to do and we really pulled it off. The green jersey is back on his shoulders and it came after a beautiful win on the cobblestones. The green jersey was just a matter of time, because Thor has been the best rider in the first four days of the Tour."
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
