"There is nothing bigger than this victory" - Cherry on top of the cake for Magnus Cort Nielsen at Tour de France

Magnus Cort Nielsen is one of the most versatile riders in the peloton, and was the grand winner of a rolling and chaotic day in the Alps as he took advantage of his sprinting and climbing capacity to bring in his second career win at the Tour de France.

“It’s unbelievable. I can’t believe what just happened today. I was on the limit for so long on this climb. Bettiol was really strong and spent many kilometres on the front so I could sit on and save some energy," Cort Nielsen said in the flash interview. In a day where the breakaway was expected to succeed, EF Education-EasyPost did not miss the move as they took two riders into the large escapee group and played their cards perfectly.

Alberto Bettiol went on the attack early, helping the Dane save as much energy as possible inside the final climb which allowed for meaningful slipstreaming. The Italian was caught inside the final ten kilometers, and both were distanced by the late attacks of Luis Léon Sanchez and Nick Schultz. "I lost contact with the group a couple of times in the last kilometres. Luckily, it went all back together and I was there... When we entered the final runaway, I saw things coming back together. I saw the Tour de France signs and realized this victory was mine," he described.

Luckily, a lull in the pace saw Nielsen back in contention inside the final 500 meters, and the group would head on to an uphill sprint, where he just barely had the best of Nick Schultz. "For a rider like me, there is nothing bigger than this victory. This is what I can chase here, at the biggest race in the world. I’ve been lucky to land another stage win on the Tour de France. It’s incredible to do it again," the Dane concluded.

After carrying the KOM jersey around Denmark and France throughout several stages, Cort was already the headliner of the American team in the race, but has not additionally brought it a very important win.