INEOS sees strong Pidcock alongside Kwiatkowski stage win on "recovery day": "700 watts on my meter"

"It wasn't necessarily the plan to put Michal up there because he had already given it a shot yesterday," Carlos Rodriguez says of his teammate's stage victory. "He was quite exhausted after the previous stage, so today was actually meant to be a recovery day for him. But even on a day like this, he finds himself at the front because he always keeps fighting. He had the legs to win, and I'm very happy for him. No one deserves it more than him. Hopefully, we'll celebrate even more victories in this Tour."

As for Rodriguez himself, losing a few seconds in the explosive finale doesn't discourage the young Spaniard. He remains in fourth place in the general classification. "The pace was high, but not as high as in the previous stages. Towards the end, it was mainly a matter of accelerating, and I struggle a bit with those changes in rhythm. I suffered until the finish but didn't lose much time. That's the most important thing."

Pidcock fared better than Rodriguez in that regard. The British rider even thought for a moment that he could go with Pogacar and Vingegaard, but it didn't work out. He finished fifth in the stage, thirteen seconds behind Pogi. "Interestingly enough, it's somewhat easier racing with the favorites. You ride faster, so the steep sections don't feel as steep as when you ride slower," he says with a laugh. "I was feeling quite good, and I did well. It was a seventeen-kilometer climb, but it ended in a bunch sprint. I saw 700 watts on my power meter, so I can only imagine how much he (Pogacar, ed.) was doing."

Having champagne in the hotel on Friday evening is a familiar tradition for Pidcock on July 14th. "Maybe we should rename the French national holiday to INEOS day after my win on Alpe d'Huez last year. It's special because there was a moment when we hesitated about having Kwiato drop back to position us well for the final climb. UAE didn't give much leeway to the breakaway, and yet he won the stage. I prepared for this Tour with him, so this is incredibly beautiful. I know how hard he worked for it, so this is a wonderful reward."