Belkin Tour News – Quotes following stage 18
Quotes following stage 18
Despite excellent supporting work by their teammates, Bauke Mollema and Laurens ten Dam were unable to defend their GC positions in Thursday’s 18th stage of the Tour de France. On the Alpe d’Huez, Belkin Pro Cycling Team’s stars dropped to the sixth and tenth place.
Tour de France: Quotes following stage 18
Lars Boom
“When I was caught after my attack, I did some work for Laurens. I’m glad I was able to help him. Despite the off day for the team, I surprised myself. I survived the first climb very well, which amazed me. The first time I passed the ‘Dutch Corner’ on Alpe d’Huez was amazing.”
Laurens ten Dam
“I was suffering today. During the first climb of the Alpe d’Huez, I was already at my limit. I was struggling. I was in survival mode and only thinking about damage control. I want to thank Lars Boom. After he was caught, he did some great work for me on the Alpe d’Huez. Maybe my crash in yesterday’s time trial weakened me more than I realised at first. This is a small blow, but hopefully I can recover enough for tomorrow.”
Robert Gesink
“I was pretty good today and like the rest of the team, I worked hard for Bauke and Laurens. The ‘Dutch Corner’ on Alp d’Huez was madhouse. Truly magnificent! I’m still deaf. Really unbelievable.”
Bauke Mollema
“It was a hard day. After yesterday’s time trial, I didn’t feel so good and today, I had to fight right from the start. Luckily, Robert and Lars Petter stayed with me and helped me; otherwise, I would have lost much more time. Hopefully I feel better tomorrow. The podium is out of reach now, but I’m glad I’ve only lost two places.”
Lars Petter Nordhaug
“I wanted to be in the breakaway today, but unfortunately I didn’t succeed. During the stage, I got better and better, and I felt very strong on the Alpe d’Huez. I was able to work a lot for Bauke. On the Col de Sarenne, I brought him back to the Yellow jersey group and when we rode up Alpe d’Huez for the second time, Robert and I tried to limit Bauke’s time loss. I’m glad I was able to do my work for the team.”
Bram Tankink
“We fought with everything we had. The spirit is there, but if the others are better, you have to take your loss. However, don’t forget there are still two hard days to come. I cracked during the first ascent of Alpe d’Huez, which sucked because my legs felt super earlier this week.”
Sep Vanmarcke
“On the Alpe d’Huez, I was forced to use my big ring. Luckily I finished in time, but I’m totally exhausted.”
Maarten Wynants
“I’m really tired. It was a quick race from the start and it wasn’t my day. A stage finishing on Alpe d’Huez carries a lot of prestige and the climbers gave the non-climbers a hard time with all their attacks. I ended up in a good gruppetto, but it was a hard day. Tomorrow will be more of the same, with two long climbs in the beginning of the stage.”
Nico Verhoeven
“We still have two men in the top ten, but we cannot afford more of these days. Thanks to excellent work of Lars, Robert and Lars Petter we were able to limit our damage, so I’m very content in terms of team spirit. We’ll have to wait and see how the boys recover because another tough day awaits us again tomorrow.”
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