Laurent Pichon, sports director of Arkéa-B & B Hotels: “We are proud of him”
“It’s incredible what he does. He wanted to make the block step, test himself. We were a little worried in the Soulor, but he was super supported by Cristian Rodriguez. They switched to the group of favorites at the top of the Col des Bordères, they recovered Raul Garcia Pierna, escaped from the day. Beyond the physique, the presence of two team members made him good morally. He made his climb, Remco caught up with him and then dropped him but he never abandoned. He had a little trouble in the strongest percentages, but as soon as it was less hard, he found his leg speed and he made a big finish. We are proud of him, of the other two, because three runners in the first twelve of the stage, it’s incredible.
In all frankness, we did not know its limits in the high mountains. He wanted to test himself, it’s a good test. When you are on 10-11%, it’s hard but on 6-7%, it goes up well. Friday, he will be even more determined for the time. It is the first time that he will be fully over three weeks, last year, he discovered the Tour. We push as long as it holds and we will see how far it leads us. These are any good benchmarks anyway. »» Y.H.