Ben O'Connor: "Having trouble controlling my emotions
"Taking part Tour France was a dream. Winning is a bonus. The race was completely crazy. There's a lot of joy, I'm finding it hard to control my emotions. I'm so grateful to the AG2R CITROËN team for putting their trust in me this season. I wasn't prepared for this, I didn't know what to do in the breakaway. I saw that we had a 5-minute lead, we could gain time for the overall classification, and on a long day like that anything can happen, and in the end I won. I gave it my all until the end, it was a crazy stage." – Vincent Lavenu
Vincent Lavenu: "A great state of mind
“We share a wonderful history with the Tour France, we regularly win stages, and each time it’s an incredible feeling that rewards everyone’s efforts: the riders, the staff, and also our partners. These are great moments to experience!
This performance is achieved in a tremendous spirit. We have a team that is very pleasant to work with, whether it's the riders are very friendly and supportive, or the group that works calmly on a daily basis. These moments bring a lot of peace."
Key number
1
The AG2R CITROËN team won the team classification of the stage thanks to the victory of Ben O'Connor, the 20th place of Benoit Cosnferoy and the 21st place of Aurélien Paret Peintre. The team is in second place overall.
The news
Abandonment of Nans Peters
Nans Peters retired during the stage due to severe back pain. "He had suffered from lumbar contusions without consequences after his two falls in the first stage, which handicapped him in the flat stages. The discomfort became much more important in the mountain stages. For this reason, we decided to have an X-ray and ultrasound examination carried out, which revealed a small incomplete fracture of a transverse lumbar apohyseal. This lesion is not serious and he should be able to resume training once the discomfort has disappeared, certainly in about ten days," says Dr. Eric Bouvat, medical director of the AG2R CITROËN team.
