"I had the opportunity, I took it and I had the legs to finish it" - Tim Wellens switches roles from Pogacar's right-hand man to glorious Tour stage winner

Tim Wellens had previously won at the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana, and this Sunday afternoon he won stage 15 of the Tour de France to tick another box in his list of achievements. This was the UAE Team Emirates - XRG's 41st career victory but perhaps the most important as he proved to be the strongest from the day's breakaway.

"It is a very special victory. I think everybody knows Tour de France, everybody wants to ride the Tour de France and not many people win in Tour de France so it's a very beautiful victory," the Belgian champion said in a post-race interview. it wasn't the day's plan, but he happened to find himself in the breakaway and happened to be on a super day.

"I felt super good today. Before the stage, Niels and me were laughing a little bit that we would go on the break. Suddenly, there was a big crash so I hope everything is okay in the crash. We tried to block and wait for the rest, but they kept on attacking. And then I followed one move and I was in the breakaway".

Then from the front group, despite it's extreme quality, he managed to make the difference right after the end of the final categorized climb. Throughout the entire Tour the 34-year old has been on extraordinary form, and in the false-flat drag that followed the ascent he made the difference to his rivals.

"And then on the climb, it exploded again. And then on the last climb of the day, I felt really good. I saw the others also felt really good, but I knew I had to go solo and at the top of the climb I found my moment and I felt that I had the legs to keep it until the end. I had the opportunity, I took it and I had the legs to finish it. But of course, I trade my victory directly for yellow with Tadej in Paris," he says, still prioritizing the team's goals.

This marks a key moment in Wellens' career, who continues to benefit from his move to UAE. "Yeah, I knew I was going to be in a very beautiful list to finally complete my trilogy from the Giro Tour and Vuelta. So I knew I had to enjoy the moment. I kept riding until the finish line because I wanted a big gap to fully enjoy it and maybe put my bike in the air after the finish. But I was so happy to win, I forgot to do it," he concluded.