"I think I had the best legs I've ever had today" - Tour de France performance above World Championships win for Michal Kwiatkowski
Cycling
Milano-Sanremo, Strade Bianche, Amstel Gold Race and World Championships winner Michal Kwiatkowski has won his second Tour de France stage win this afternoon at the Grand Colombier, and admits it may have been his best perfomance ever to conquer a tough mountain stage.
“I had eighteen friends in the breakaway. When I went into the break I thought, this is a free ticket to the base of the climb. I never thought we would fight for the win," Kwiatkowski admits in a post-race interview. “Apparently it is not so easy to follow 19 men. We did not want to miss a big break. We like to participate in the big selections. I think UAE Emirates let too many men ahead."
The British team played their cards for the stage win knowing it would be difficult for anyone to control such a large breakaway. Whilst Carlos Rodríguez and Tom Pidcock rode a strong stage in the fight for the overall classification, the Pole had the legs to go and contest the stage on the final 17-kilometer climb, with his form on the rise after having been close to the top two on Cauterets.
The 33-year old, riding his ninth Tour, believes this could've actually been the best performance of his career. "I think I had the best legs I've ever had today. I never thought this was possible," he states. "Winning at the top of the Grand Colombier is incredible. I have memories here with Egan Bernal about thinking about giving up the race. That's what he did later on. Today was really different. Incredible.”
A success story on the slopes of the brutal ascent, Kwiatkowski won the stage with 47 seconds over Maxim van Gils, and 50 over Tadej Pogacar who was the first of the riders from the peloton. He made the difference in the opening kilometers of the final climb where the break broke to pieces, attacking with 12 kilometers to go and sustaining the solo lead all the way into the line.
“Without the fans this wouldn't be possible. I didn't have the car behind me. I couldn't really hear what was happening behind me. The fans really helped me to the finish. They were great," Kwiatkowski concluded on Bastille Day, repeating the feat of the British team who had Tom Pidcock conquer last year's stage at Alpe d'Huez.
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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