"I thought I was smart during the stage, but he was even smarter" - Michal Kwiatkowski surrenders to Victor Campenaerts in Barcelonnette

With two stage victories under his belt, it doesn't come as a surprise that Michal Kwiatkowski had already his sights on the possibility of adding number three to his collection on eighteenth stage of the Tour de France. And for a long time, it seemed like everything plays into his hands, especially when a group of just three steered clear. Many experts considered the Pole from INEOS Grenadiers the most suited for such a sprint but surprisingly, not only Victor Campenaerts, but also the young Mattéo Vercher had more in their legs in Barcelonnette.

"I was really aiming for this stage. It's a shame that we couldn't finish the job in the last 200 meters," said a dejected Kwiatkowski in an interview on his team's X account. "But that's cycling, it's cruel, it's hard to swallow. I'm still proud of the way we rode today and yesterday."

"On this Tour there weren't many opportunities for us, it was very polarized, with either sprint stages or for the general classification. We gave it our all, that's for sure and it's a shame that there aren't as many stages like that. There are still two tough stages to come, so we're not going to give up."

"Congratulations to Victor. I thought I was smart during the stage, but he was even smarter. He followed me from kilometer 0 and he knew what to do, especially in the sprint. But I was also happy to have him with me in the last 30 kilometers, otherwise it would have been difficult to maintain the lead over the pursuers," he concluded.