Dries van Gestel has been the main sprinter for TotalEnergies so far at the race and the call for Soupe to sprint was a last minute decision. “With his team not anywhere near him, he might have thought; I’m just going to kick out," explains Blythe. "I also want to know where he gets that beard from, because it’s very strong.”
Blythe's Breakaway companion
Daniel Lloyd was impressed by Soupe's calmness in and amongst the chaos. “I still can’t get my head around the fact that Soupe’s won the stage here," he says disbelievingly. "I don’t know what odds he was at the start of the day, but very long. He’s just won his first ever Grand Tour stage. Like Adam was saying, to hold off that calibre of riders, no matter how messy it was behind, all the way from that corner, getting back up the speed to the finishing line, he’s found his calling.”