“How do you feel after your victory?
In the first sprint (in Turin), I was locked up but that doesn’t mean I didn’t sprint. In the second (Monday in Saint-Vulbas), I lost my launchers but that’s also part of the sprint… I was very disappointed yesterday (Wednesday), I didn’t feel very good all day long, maybe because we slept at altitude and that made me lose confidence. Yesterday, it was completely my fault. Today, (this Thursday) I reassured them before the start, I told them that I still had the legs. We did everything perfectly.
Do sprinters like you need to win stages in big races?
It’s always great to win the Tour (he signed his seventh victory on Tuesday), it’s the biggest race in the world. We sprinters only have five or six chances to win in a sprint during the three weeks… It was a very important stage for myself and for the team. It takes off a bit of pressure for the weeks to come even if we’re going to do everything to win another one.
“I think it’s a good thing for cycling to have different winners”
How do you analyze your sprint and your decision-making during it?
I heard on the radio that Arnaud De Lie was launching the sprint, so I followed and I was in the right line. I saw that Jasper Philipsen was there on the right side, I was on the left side, it was a man-to-man duel, each on his own side. The level has been really high in the sprint since the start of the Tour de France. Many teams have very strong trains.
They have very good throwers too, several teams have the same level. To win you have to do everything perfectly. Today it was us, yesterday it was Cavendish, in Turin it was Girmay. I think it’s a good thing for cycling to have different winners.
Have you changed anything this year in terms of preparation?
I don’t feel particularly better this year than other years but I feel better in the sprints. I didn’t win in 2023 but I wasn’t far off. We changed the preparation a bit to be even stronger. Everyone is working very hard in the team. We have more opportunities this year, with the climbers and the general. We all help each other, like in a family.
