Competitions

Cervelo TestTeam race quotes: Tour de France Stage 16

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Parent Category: Competitions

Category: Tour de France 2010

Published on Tuesday, 20 July 2010 20:25

Written by Luca Salvatelli

Thor Hushovd (NOR): “It was an important day. I knew it was a good chance to try to get some more points. The team did a great job helping me get over the climbs. With the break up the road, we knew there were some points waiting at the finish line. It’s important to take many whenever you have the opportunity. Petacchi is the most dangerous rival. I am feeling better as this Tour goes along. I think I have a good chance to win another stage. I would love to win on the Champs-Elysées. The green jersey always comes down to who is the strongest rider over three weeks.”

Carlos Sastre (ESP): “I was looking again for the breakaway, like always. We went to the maximum, but it didn’t work out. We went over two climbs, but the gap was hovering around 25-30 seconds, and no one really took enough digs to make a real difference. Finally, I decided to stop because I realized it would be difficult to stay away.”

Ignatas Konovalovas (LTU): “It was a really tough ride today. I got to that group, we tried to jump four riders across, but (Carlos) Barredo set too hard of a tempo for me, so I decided to ride at my own pace. I was hoping to catch them, then I felt that I was not so good on the top of the last climb. After the first attack of Lance (Armstrong), I was already four minutes behind and could not catch them. Then I decided to wait for the bunch, and help Thor to try to get points. It was a good day for me to trust myself. Today I saw that I can do good things in this Tour. Of course, it’s nice to ride at the front of the mountains. I was suffering and didn’t hear too much! It’s all in the head. Everyone is suffering now. Lots of guys in the bunch are sick, same as me. Two days ago, I thought I was going to stop after 50km. But I managed, now I feel great that I could do something for my team. Now we are closer to Paris, that is most important, but there are still some stages to do.”