Geschke jumps onto KOM lead at Tour de France - "I will try to keep it for as long as possible"

Cofidis started the Tour de France with the goal of fighting for stage wins and the KOM jersey. Although the first hasn't been accomplished, yesterday the team took an important step as Simon Geschke put on the KOM jersey at the end of the day.

"Getting the polka-dot jersey was my goal for this stage. It was more realistic to have a go today than in the high mountains. I already had four points on my books, so I decided to go on the break and chase the KOM points all day long," Geschke told the media after the finish line. The German rider entered the breakaway with a specific goal and achieved it.

It took me a big effort on the last climb, but in the end I grabbed just enough points to land the leadership on the standings," he added. He had the competition of Pierre Latour in the climbs halfway through the day, but has managed to just barely jump onto the lead - having a one-point advantage over Bob Jungels who rode through the final climbs solo in front.

"I’m honored to take this jersey into the rest day. I will try to keep it for as long as possible, but I am aware that there are many big climbs to come," he admitted. The Cofidis rider won't have an easy task defending the lead over the Alps, however he's shown at the Tour de Romandie - where he finished second in the overall classification - that he can climb the high mountains and will have full support from the team for the goal.

"When Bob Jungels and I went away, I was on my limit. I had just enough energy to be the first atop the summit. When I lost his wheel on the descent, I thought it was wiser to wait for the big group that was riding behind us. But then it turned out he was faster on the downhill and the flats than the group was. It’s the one mistake I made today," he concluded.