Giulio Ciccone wins the polka dot jersey: "When they told me I could win the jersey, that was a very strong moment"

Giulio Ciccone secured victory in the mountain classification of the Tour de France on Saturday. If the Italian reaches the finish of the final stage to Paris, he will put on the last polka dot jersey on Champs-Elysees.

Ciccone thanked his squad for helping him achieve his goal. "I think they did something incredible today. I have to thank the whole team because we started with a plan and they did everything perfectly. This jersey is for them. They did more than half the work."

"We fought for the jersey for more than a week, now I want to enjoy it," continued the Lidl-Trek rider. "The main goal, winning a stage, didn't work out, but I came close once. In the end it is perfect as it is, with the stage victory of Mads."

Asked about the best moment of his Tour, Ciccone replied that it was today's stage. "When they said in my earpiece that I would win the polka dots, if I took the next KOM points, I really realized that it could happen. That was a very nice moment."