Another Tour de France is behind us. Chris Froome returns home with his third title, but there are plenty of revelations and possible future stars in the top ten.
Runner Up Romain Bardet:
“I find it hard to put my feelings into words. As I previously said, I took the time to enjoy my victory with my teammates and the staff.
“Today our objective was to stay focus in order to remain second overall. We managed quite well stage 20 and I was feeling emotional at the end of it. We did an exceptional Tour de France and we can be really proud of our performance. To be honest, I expected to be in great shape during this Tour in order to reach the best overall position possible. I
had a great time riding this race.
“I felt comfortable in the GC leaders group and I took the chance of attacking them. We were successful but only thanks to an important group work.
“This podium is the result of an outstanding team effort and it is the greatest moment of my career! The public support was unbelievable, it was truly stunning. That is why I would like to thank the public, I am really grateful for their everyday support.”
Unfinished Business for Quintana:
Nairo Quintana completed the race in third spot overall -his fourth Grand Tour podium finish, following his win in the 2014 Giro and runner-up places in the 2013 & 2015 Tours de France.
“I head back home from this Tour full of happiness – it’s a major feat for me to finish on the podium after all difficulties I had to go through in this race,” explained Quintana. “We rounded off our performance well, with big joy yesterday as our team-mate and friend Ion took that stage win. That was a success we had been chasing during the entire Tour. Regarding the team, I just can say ‘thank you’ – they helped me out so much. The team GC victory is a well-deserved reward for them: my team-mates fought and gave their best every single day to do what we had planned, and that visit to the podium is quite a prize for the whole group, including our staff.”
“Our overview after the race can only be positive,” the Colombian insisted after completing his third Tour podium finish in the ‘Grande Boucle’ in as many appearances, aged just 26. “It’s obvious that we came into this race with a much bigger and ambitious goal, but we’ve got many years ahead to keep trying. A podium in the Tour de France, the biggest race of them all, makes you feel really happy. This goes to all our fans, my family, dad and mom, who always pray for me so things go right for me. I also want to congratulate Froome: he’s a big rival, the biggest one I have to face in my sporting career, and I’m sure that this rivalry will last for many years. Sometimes he wins, sometimes -as seen during this season- it’s my turn to win.”
Adam Yates first Brit to take White Jersey:
In just his second attempt, Adam Yates today became the first British rider to win the best young rider classification at the Tour de France.
A series of impressive performances over several tough mountain stages saw Yates move into second overall before slipping to fourth over the last two days of racing, only 21seconds behind Nairo Quintana (Movistar) in third.
“We came here not really riding for the overall,” said a smiling Yates in Paris. “It just kind of happened and the whole team have been incredible in their support, all the riders and the staff who have worked so hard everyday.”
“There has been no pressure, other than what I put on myself. We approached the race day-by-day and I’m very happy with how it has turned out, this is a fantastic honour.
“I had a bad day on stage 19 and I wasn’t sure how my legs would respond but I recovered well and here we are. I’ve won the white jersey and fourth overall and that’s very satisfying.
“I wouldn’t say that we are disappointed not to have made the podium, it’s one of those things. This is only my second Tour and all of the guys ahead of me have competed for the general classification in previous Grand Tours so I think we have done very well.”
Porte Claims First Top 5 Spot:
Richie Porte of the BMC Racing Team secured his first top five result at the Tour de France as the peloton made their way onto the Champs-Elysées for the final stage of the race.
“Fifth place, although a bit bittersweet, is a great result,” Porte said after the race. “I’ll always think about what could have been with the time loss on stage 2, but it makes me even more hungry to back and try and win the yellow jersey. I had a great Tour, I climbed really well, and also had a bit of bad luck. I’m looking forward to coming back and giving it another shot with BMC Racing Team. I had great support from my teammates and all in all, it was a great experience.”
In addition to Porte’s General Classification result, Greg Van Avermaet leaves as winner of stage 5 and with three days in the yellow jersey to add to his palmarès.
Porte not only claimed his best result ever at the Grand Tour, but is the best-placed Australian rider at the race since Cadel Evans’ victory in 2011 with BMC Racing Team, and only the third Australian rider to crack the top five at the Tour de France.
Mollema Satisfied Despite Disappointment
Despite dropping from second to eleventh place overall, and the dream of standing on the final podium shattered after a crash-marred stage 19, Bauke Mollema and Trek-Segafredo, through massive disappointment, have recognized many positives from the 2016 Tour de France.
“The Tour overall was a great ride,” said Mollema. “The team was in full support for me and until two days ago, it looked really good. Misfortune like that is an intrinsic part of our sport. The difference is how you take it. How you deal with it.
“Eleventh is my worst Tour if you look at the number. Yet, it was my best. I’ll be proud of this in a couple of days when the disappointment is over. There are a number of highlights. That first TT, for example, is a moment I will remember forever.
Dimension Data leads in stage wins:
After an incredible 3 weeks of racing, Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka put in one final fantastic performance during today’s last stage.
“Looking back on the 3 weeks that was the 2016 Tour de France, our 5 stage wins was more than any other team in the race,” said Dimension Data Head of Performance, Ralf Aldag. “Mark Cavendish showed why he is the best sprinter in the world once again, with his 4 stage wins, a day in the yellow jersey, 6 days’ in the green jersey and taking his career tally of Tour stage wins up to 30. The 2nd most in the history of the race behind Eddy Merckx’s 34 stage victories. Steve Cummings stage 7 win was just another incredible performance by a super talented individual.”
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