Quotes
Stage 8
72| Bruno ARMIRAIL
Bruno Armirail: "Not bad for a guy who weighs over 70 kilos"
"This morning I was thinking a little bit about the polka dot jersey, but Buitrago was well placed, as were Higuita and Pogacar. Every day I was able to pick up a few points, I went for it, and I guess it worked. This year, I almost won the best climber's jersey in the Volta a Catalunya. I lost it on the last day, but then I was the best climber in Itzulia and now in the Dauphiné. That's not bad for a guy who weighs over 70 kilos. Overall, it's been a positive week for the team, also with Paul Seixas. He's very strong, and it's crazy to see what he's capable of at...
Stage 8
4| Florian LIPOWITZ
Florian Lipowitz: "Now I have more confidence"
"I expected others to try something today. I didn't have the best legs and I was suffering a lot. So I’m super happy with how strong we rode as a team and that I could secure the 3rd place in the overall standings.
I would never have thought to I could compete like this in the Criterium du Dauphiné. It’s an incredible week for me and I’m delighted with the result. Three weeks is super hard but now I have more confidence and I’m really looking forward to the Tour de France."
Stage 8
21| Tadej POGAČAR
Tadej Pogacar: "We turned all the negatives into positives"
"It's been a really amazing week. Once again today, the team did a great job. We managed to defend the jersey and we can go home happy and prepare for the Tour.
There's a lot of positives from this week and we turned all the negatives into positives, so it's all good. Now we go to an altitude camp at Isola 2000. There's not much to do ahead of the Tour. I rest a bit, maybe some extra work for the time-trial, and then I'm ready.
I had only done the Critérium du Dauphiné in 2020, when the race was shortened due to Covid. It was some of the...
Stage 8
51| Lenny MARTINEZ
Lenny Martinez: “I wasn't expecting much”
"Yesterday, I was really bad, and I hadn't been feeling great the days before either. So I wasn't expecting much today. But then I finally felt good at the start, so I decided to go for it. At one point, I thought Van der Poel was going to win, then I thought I was going to get caught by the Pogacar-Vingegaard duo a little later... It would have been a real shame, but it worked out!
I was going all out until the last kilometre and it was only at the end that I really believed it was possible to win. I'm very happy with my performance in the Dauphiné. I came...
Stage 7
151| Romain BARDET
Romain Bardet: "You have to seize these moments"
"I don't know if it was panache, I think it was more of a desperate move. But when you can enjoy yourself, you have to seize these moments. Being at the front of the race was also a way of thanking everyone for the affection I've received, both this week and over many years.
To pass alone in the lead at Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne meant a lot to me, that’s where I won my first stage at the Tour de France, in 2015.
With my current level, I couldn't have done much more in this Dauphiné, but I like the way I gave it my all. I've never raced to be on the...
Stage 7
21| Tadej POGAČAR
Tadej Pogacar: "Attacking was a form of defence"
"I didn’t necessarily need to take loads of time today. Attacking was a form of defence and then I just tried to pace myself to the top and ease up in the last kilometres. I’m super happy with how we rode today. They attacked us, we responded. And we’ll have two more climbers in the Tour de France.
Today we wanted to take control on the climbs but Visma went for many attacks. They attacked at the top of La Croix de Fer and then I think they wanted to drop me on the downhill. It was a bit dangerous in the first kilometres, I didn’t like that...
Stage 7
4| Florian LIPOWITZ
Florian Lipowitz: “Finishing on the podium would be incredible”
"It was a super hard day form the start again. I was really happy with my legs again and with the way we raced as a team. I paced myself on the last climb. I suffered a lot in the last five kilometres and I was really happy when I saw the last kilometre mark. Finishing third is a really good result for me.
I hope to have the same legs tomorrow. Finishing on the podium of the Critérium du Dauphiné would be incredible but tomorrow is another really hard day.
So far, I don’t really think about the Tour. I really focus on this race...
Stage 6
21| Tadej POGAČAR
Pogacar: "Why wait?"
"I’m super happy to be back in yellow. It was a very good day for us. I’m getting very good answers from this Dauphiné. I wasn’t too stressed after the time trial and the shape is here. After the Dauphiné, I will go to Isola to rest a little and work on my TT bike.
We had our own plan but then Visma went full gas on the first category climb [Côte du Mont-Saxonnex]. We survived well with Tim [Wellens], Jon [Narvaez] and Pavel [Sivakov]. They did an amazing job and we actually controlled all the way today, except from that moment...
Stage 6
4| Florian LIPOWITZ
Florian Lipowitz: "Super happy with the performance"
"My legs were really good today and the team did an amazing job to protect me, grab some ice, give me water… When there were the first attacks on the second last climb, I followed and decided to try something. I paced myself, they caught me but I was feeling confident. I tried to recover as much as I could and I gave it my best on the last climb. I’m super happy with the performance. UAE went all out from the bottom. I paced myself with Remco [Evenepoel] and then I gave it a shot, I opened a gap and I went all the way to the finish. There are two more really...
Stage 6
92| Alex BAUDIN
Alex Baudin: "I didn't even try to stick to his wheel"
"It was a beautiful day for cycling, and I really enjoyed myself, especially on the last climb where there were a lot of people. The goal was to spend the day at the front and try to take advantage of any opportunities that came up, but it wasn't possible to do any better. When I was caught by ‘Pogi’, I stood up on my pedals but I didn't even try to stick to his wheel. I knew I would have blown up. Getting to the climb with that gap and with the little energy I had left, it was impossible.
The polka dot jersey wasn't planned, I didn’t expect to be...
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