“A bit of an obligatory question. What does it do?”
I don’t really know… I just want to see my kids, my teammates. It’s also the victory of all the people who supported me. All the people who worked to achieve this success at the Tour de France. For a year, I would even say two years because I’ve been in this team for two years. I don’t really feel like celebrating this victory by doing crazy things. Just by being with my entourage, the people I’m lucky to have around me. The Astana Qazasqtan team is a group of friends. And I’m also lucky to have an incredible family. It means so much more to me that they’re here.
We felt you were at the top of your game in this sprint. Was that the case?
When you know you’ve done things well before, it gives you confidence. You could see in the second part of the stage today how involved my teammates were in the preparation for the sprint. But this is the Tour de France. You can never feel fresh in this race, but when you know what you have to do, and my experience allowed me today to stay calm, that’s when you arrive. The confidence I have in my teammates also carried me a lot. There’s not much else I could have done, that’s how I see the psychology of my sport.
The sprint was quite chaotic. You went from right to left. How did you experience it?
I just followed the movement. I followed Pascal Ackermann’s (Israel – Premier Tech) teammates. I knew he would be there but it’s hard to predict which way he would go. I had to follow him and that’s what I did.
“I want to enjoy this victory and then I will try to win again”
What does it mean to you to share this moment with your family?
I am very happy about this. I may have been home for only three weeks. I make sure that my family has a normal life. I think that every father is able to testify how special it is to share such a moment. Like today with his children, I mean even: what is the point of doing anything in life if you cannot share with your loved ones and especially with your children?
It was a long preparation to achieve this victory since your last victory on the Tour dates back three years…
(He interrupts.) No, it’s not three years. The last victory was certainly three years ago, but what could I do in 2022? I didn’t do the Tour, and in 2023 I fell. That doesn’t mean I wasn’t competitive for a period of three years. I did what I had to do and I got this victory.
The Tour de France is not over. There are two and a half weeks left…
First, I want to enjoy this victory and then I will try to win again. Winning races is our job and I love this race, when I ride it, when I watch it… It’s been a long time since Astana won the Tour so we will try to survive and hang on to get to this spectacular time trial between Monaco and Nice in two and a half weeks.”
