"I am amazed at what I am capable of in this Tour" - Felix Gall matches Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard on final Tour de France mountains

Felix Gall has steadily been developing his climbing skills, and then had a breakthrough over the Tour de Suisse. However, at this Tour de France he's evolved even further and taken yet another step in his evolution, coming to the point that he was the closest to Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar in the final mountain stage.

"I am amazed at what I am capable of in this Tour," Gall said in a post-race interview. The Austrian did not start the race with GC ambitions and lost several minutes in the Basque Country, but through consistency and very strong performances in the mountains on the second and third week, he entered the Top10, and won the queen stage into Courchevel, beating luxurious competition in the high mountains. "This morning at the start I didn't feel so good. I didn't assume I could follow the best. During the stage, however, the feeling got better and better. The audience carried me, the atmosphere was fantastic; the audience stimulated me on every climb."

The AG2R Citroën Team rider couldn't answer directly to Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard on the Col de Platzerwasel, however as they wouldn't collaborate they followed the wheel of the Austrian who also attacked from the GC group. He caught and dropped the remnants of the breakaway with the duo on his wheel, who wouldn't collaborate.

"After Pogacar clashed on the Platzerwasel with Vingegaard, I chose my own pace so that I wouldn't explode. In the end I joined and decided to ride to prevent other GC riders from returning," eventually Adam and Simon Yates returned to the front of the race, Adam paced the group so that a sprint would be inevitable in Le Markstein. Gall sprinted to second place only behind the Slovenian, however he was content with his performance, letting go his possible KOM ambitions to chase the best possible GC result.

"I couldn't have done better. I am very proud of the second place. Now I can enjoy the afterglow of the Tour, my stage victory in Courchevel, my three podium places in stages and eighth place in the standings. These three weeks have increased my confidence in my potential," he concluded. Gall is set to finish eighth in the GC and second in the KOM classification.