Johannessen wanted to "show that he's not an idiot," Vauquelin feels "mental barrier has been overcome"

Halland Johannessen was in the spotlight on Wednesday after he knocked Tadej Pogacar off his bike in Toulouse. “After all that commotion, I really wanted to prove that I'm a good cyclist,” the Uno-X rider told Eurosport. “I rode at my own pace, so it was a battle between my legs and my mindset.”

“We're in a good flow with the team. A strong group broke away right from the start, and everyone wanted to help me, so that gave me a really good feeling,” said the Norwegian. “I'm pleased with my fourth place. I wanted to show that I'm not an idiot. Pogacar came up to me right at the start, and he was very kind, so that was really nice. All in all, it was good motivation.”

Vauquelin finished sixth. “I persevered and gave it my all. We rode hard all day,” said the highest-ranked Frenchman. “I wasn't at my best on the Col du Soulor, the first climb of the day. Fortunately, Cristián (Rodríguez, ed.) was by my side. He did a great job of getting me back into the group of favorites before the top.

"It gave me extra motivation for the finish. I tackled the final climb to Hautacam at my own pace, feeling that I had to keep my head above water," explained the young rider. "I paced myself well and at the end I felt I could recover, which allowed me to catch up with Remco Evenepoel."

“I was a bit nervous before this first mountain stage, but the work I did during training at Isola 2000 paid off,” he summarizes. “I've worked really hard on the longer climbs, and that gives me confidence. I feel like I've overcome a mental barrier. We'll see how I recover over the next few days, but we can already be delighted with what we've achieved together today,” concludes the Arkéa - B&B Hotels rider.