Tour de France (Stage 18), Yvon Ledanois: "I remember the panache of my riders
Nairo Quintana is 5th in the general classification of the Tour after the Pyrenees. A position that no rider from our team had ever occupied before.
Photo GettyImages
On the line
“I gave it my all, I had a bit of trouble breathing. But I don’t want to use that as an excuse. I think we are doing a great Tour de France, the race was very fast. My team-mates did a very good job. We all gave our best. I hope to set a good time now to be among the very first in this Tour de France. I raced with my heart, I threw all my strength into the battle, my head also played an important role. I have regained confidence in this Tour after some difficult years and that is a good thing for the future”.
“We had to work for Nairo, and we did it. Tonight we have the satisfaction of having given everything. There is still tomorrow and the stage of the Champs-Élysées, I hope that tomorrow there will not be a breakaway that will go to the end. But I think that there are quite a few sprinters’ teams still in the race and that they will do everything to make it happen with such a scenario”.
The debrief
“This stage had everything we expected: suspense, panache. I especially remember this attitude. As we said this morning in the bus, we tried and we did everything, even if it meant dying on the side of the road. The guys gave everything, there are no regrets. Nairo also gave it his all. We leave fourth place with honours. There are now three stages left before the Champs, we will continue with the same desire that has been driving us since the start in Denmark. Few people would have said before this Tour that we would be in this position at the end of the Pyrenees. The team has always believed in Nairo and his team-mates. Now we are focused on the next stages, because the Tour is far from being over.