"The past month was by far the best month of my life" - Victor Campenaerts looks back at becoming father and winning a Tour stage

Victor Campenaerts is currently on a cloud nine, and a slightly disappointing 13th place from the final time trial can't change that. After having welcomed his first child earlier this year, the Belgian also grabbed his first Tour de France victory in the eighteenth stage.

A top position like in the first time trial in this Tour de France - when he finished fifth - was not in the cards for Campenaerts in the final time trial. "I still felt very good, but maybe I would have ridden faster downhill if I hadn't done the reconnaissance," he told Het Nieuwsblad. "Because after the reconnaissance I already thought: 'Oh, oh, what is this here.'"

After his time trial, Campenaerts had a clear idea of ​​which GC contender has the advantage on this course: "I think Pogacar, because he is a bit more of a daredevil on the descent and he also lives nearby. The first climb suits Evenepoel better, the second climb suits Pogacar better. But on the descent, a good descender can easily gain thirty seconds."

How does Campenaerts look back on his Tour de France? "I am incredibly happy. The past month was by far the best month of my life. But if the team had kept me out of the selection for the Tour for some reason, that would still have been the best month of my life. I was really looking forward to becoming a father, but I never expected that it would make me so incredibly happy. That combined with a super good Tour, a very good atmosphere within the team and winning a stage, that is incredible."