"I hope the other guys who fell are okay too" - Sepp Kuss doesn't blame the spectator for his crash

Sepp Kuss hit a spectator's smartphone this afternoon, leading to a relatively big crash in the peloton. His teammate Nathan Van Hooydonck was at first sight one of the biggest victims, but Kuss does not point the finger of blame at the spectator.

"There was a narrowing of the road in a town, and a spectator hit the brake lever on my handlebars. Luckily I'm okay, I hope the other guys who fell are too," he told Eurosport.

It is not the first fall this week, and that has a reason, according to the Jumbo-Visma rider. "Of course things can always happen that you have no control over. But the many falls are also due to the fatigue after this tough race. As a result, you lack some alertness."

The interviewer wanted to know whether the stage went as planned. "More or less. The whole team was fine, we still had a lot of riders with us when UAE Emirates picked up the pace on the final climb. But we were able to ride our own race. The breakway was allowed to stay ahead, as happened. Now we're looking forward to the rest day."