Belgian sprinters see chances slip away in Valence: "That cost me the victory"

It was a bitter pill for Meeus to let Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) get away. “This is really a missed opportunity,” the man who saw brand-new father Danny van Poppel go home this morning told Sporza. “You don’t get many chances in the Tour, and I really feel like I made a mistake by not going for it myself.”

“I just have to go for it when I see an opening. I didn’t do that and it cost me the victory today,” said Meeus. I didn’t see the finish line because it was behind a corner. I was constantly looking at the signs to see how far it was. I waited, and Milan went for it.”

“Suddenly, I saw the 100-meter sign about 20 meters ahead of us. Then I knew I was too late to catch him...,” Meeus said, disappointed.

De Lie touched Milan's rear wheel while sprinting. “It's fortunate that I didn't crash. Otherwise, my Tour de France would have been over. Now I can talk to you about this fourth place. We always have to stay positive,” he said.

"I'm super happy with my performance. I may have made a mistake by going for Milan's wheel. I should have stayed next to him, but it's always easy to talk after the race," De Lie knows. "Winning was possible, but it is what it is."