Tour de France: Stage 21 finish line quotes
Froome, Greipel, Sagan, Yates, Majka and more
Chris Froome (Team Sky) - 2016 Tour de France champion
"To my teammates and support team this is your yellow jersey. I wouldn’t be standing here if it wasn’t for your commitment. A massive thank you to Dave Brailsford and my coach Tim Kerrison. This is one special team and I’m so proud to be part of it. To Michelle my wife and my son Kellan, your love and support make everything possible. Kellan I dedicate this victory to you."
"This Tour has taken place against the backdrop of the terrible events in Nice and we pay our respects once again to those who lost their lives. Of course these events put sport into perspective but they also show why the values of sport are so important to free society. We all love the Tour de France because it’s unpredictable but we love the Tour more for what stays the same – the passion of the fans for every nation, the beauty of the French countryside and the bonds of friendship created through sport. These things will never change."
Andre Greipel (Lotto Soudal) - Tour de France stage 21 winner
"I can't describe it. I'm just super proud of what we've achieved today. I've raced for three weeks for that. The team kept believing in me. We've tried many times and never could succeed, now we won two stages with Thomas De Gendt [on Ventoux] and now me on the Champs Elysees.
"We had a good plan this morning, with the headwind I just tried to stay calm to save energy. Once we hit the front, we were one guy too short, so I chose the wheel of Kristoff which was the best today. I'm happy I could finish it off and get another Tour de France stage win."
Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) - points classification winner
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"My best memories of this Tour? There are too many: the three stage wins, the great work of the team and tonight's party in Paris. We're all very happy. The Olympic Games are next for me. I'll go back to the roots [mountain biking]."
Adam Yates (Orica-BikeExchange) - best young rider
"It's a big honour to be here. On TV it might look like an easy stage but it wasn't. After three week, nothing has changed. I'm the same. I live it day by day. I'm not thinking of the future."
Rafal Majka (Tinkoff) - mountains classification winner
"After five years, it's hard to say goodbye to the team but we have done our best: the top 10 with Roman [Kreuziger], Peter's jersey and mine. That's my second one but not my last one. We've done a great team work. It's like if it was my first time. I'm happy, especially after the back luck we had at the beginning. Cycling is a very hard sport, particularly mentally. You have to be very strong."
Steven De Jongh (Tinkoff directeur sportif)
"It was a good Tour, but of course it was very unfortunate we lost Alberto [Contador], actually after two stages he wasn't the same. The other boys did well, especially Peter [Sagan], he was showing himself as a true champion. Yesterday he helped out Roman [Kreuziger] to get into the top 10 and also helped Rafal [Majka] to go into the decisive break to get into the polka dot jersey. He was an amazing teammate.
"We are going to leave with very good memories of the TInkoff team, we showed it's still a good team. We leave with a very good feeling."
Richie Porte (BMC Racing) - fifth place overall
"Fifth place, although a bit bittersweet, is a great result. I'll always think about what could have been with the time loss on stage 2, but it makes me even more hungry to back and try and win the yellow jersey. I had a great Tour, I climbed really well, and also had a bit of bad luck. I'm looking forward to coming back and giving it another shot with BMC Racing Team. I had great support from my teammates and all in all, it was a great experience."
