“Kwiatkowski’s assist helped us win,” Carlos Rodriguez thanked his team-mate. We look back on the 14th stage of the Tour with comments from the players, including Pogacar, who said, “It’s a little disappointing” when his attack was blocked by a motobike.
Section winner & 3rd overall Carlos Rodriguez (Spain, Ineos Grenadiers)
Carlos Rodriguez (Spain, Ineos Grenadiers) who caught up with the first two on the downhill and decided to win as it was Photo: CorVos
I have no words for how wonderful it is. Participating in the Tour was my first dream. I can’t believe I won the best race in the world. I want to thank my team for believing in me and supporting me. This victory would not have been possible without the strength of the team.
―Did you think you could catch up after falling behind the front two in the final mountainous Joux Plane?
No way. She thought it was absolutely impossible. But to do my best on the climbs, I kept my rhythm and went as fast as I could on the descents. (The first two guys) kept me in check, so I tried my best to finish. Besides, I myself am good at downhill, so I wanted to make use of that strength. I didn’t want to drop the car, so I pushed to the very limit, but even so, there were moments when I was nervous at some corners. I’m super happy that the result led to this win.
Carlos Rodriguez (Spain, Ineos Grenadiers) who won the first Tour Photo: CorVos
Q: Was Kwiatkowski’s victory the day before motivating you?
of course. But not only yesterday’s victory but also today’s team’s running gave me strength. He (Kwiatkowski), who was on the run away, came back to the main group to support me, and he returned to the team car three times in 10 minutes to carry bottles. Great runs like that make the difference. I think his assists contributed to this win.
My goal today was to improve the overall time. I was able to achieve that as well, so I’m very happy with today’s result. I am happy with this victory now and will try to recover for tomorrow’s stage. Because we have another tough stage tomorrow.
2nd in section & 2nd overall & Maillot Blanc Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia, UAE Team Emirates)
Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia, UAE Team Emirates) is first in the sprint competing for second place Photo: CorVos
Our team showed their strength again today and it was a good day, albeit not perfect. We also learned a lot from the race and can go into tomorrow’s race with a positive mindset.
Tomorrow will be another tough stage, followed by an individual time trial and the Roz Pass (stage 17). In addition, there are still four stages that determine the 20th stage and the winner. It’s going to be a close fight, but I’m confident.
About the motobike that blocked the path just before the top of Joux Plane
At the end of a long climb (that attack I set for him), it ended up being a waste of time. It was a desperate sprint, so I’m a little disappointed. But I don’t think the final result would have changed (even if that sprint had been decided). After that I had no legs (at the summit) and was unable to compete for bonus time. The attack ended in failure, but it can’t be helped.
Section 3 & Maillot Jaune & Mailopois Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark, Jumbo-Visma)
Jonas Vingego (Denmark, Jumbo Visma) who protected the Mayo Jaune and extended the lead by 1 second Photo: CorVos
Today was a good day to protect Maillot Jaune. And I want to thank my teammates for a great run. We wanted the race to be tough today. And I’m happy to finally take a second from Pogacar.
His acceleration was so ferocious that I couldn’t keep up. But he was lucky enough to climb at his own pace and catch up. Our levels are even, which makes for a great fight. We are both really strong.
4th in section & 5th overall Adam Yates (UK, UAE Team Emirates)
At the top of the Joux Plane, my chain came off and I quickly lost track of the lead. But I think he put up a good fight as a team.
On the motobike that blocked Pogacar’s path
I think it’s cruel. I got blocked by a motobike (on the same climb) and I don’t understand why a race needs a motobike so much. But the Tour de France is a circus, so I guess that’s part of the race too.
6th in section & 4th overall Jai Hindley (Australia, Bora Hansgrohe)
Jai Hindley (Australia, Bora-Hansgrohe) finished in 5th place, 1 minute 46 seconds behind the leader despite crashing Photo: CorVos
After the crash (which happened early in the race) I was in pain all day. I don’t think it’s a serious injury, maybe it’s a muscle problem. The pain is especially severe when dancing. Of course it’s not ideal to drop like today (on a big day for general competition), but that’s part of racing. Even in bad situations, I managed to get through it. Let’s see how it affects tomorrow.
text: Sotaro Arakawa
photo:CorVos
2023-07-16 03:15:34
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