Tour Team News: Hard day for Omega Pharma Quickstep

“It was a really hard day,” says Kevin De Weert, who was in a key breakaway that produced the eventual stage winner.

“From the start it was impressive, the attacks. At one point Sylvain was in the front but at another point more than 20 riders were ahead. We discussed at the meeting to try to put someone in front, to try and jump on a climb. It worked, and I came to the front. There were two riders up the road. With 20 riders in my group, it was not a good situation, so I tried to attack. Then all the riders came back together except a few. Then at the end, I think all the efforts I did all week, the first week with Levi, I was dead at the end. But we tried and we will keep on trying.”

“I think everybody was just suffering,” Levi Leipheimer, top finisher for the team in 20th place, said. “It was a really hard stage. I didnt expect it to break up as much as it did. I was surprised by the climbs, they were really, really tough here. These last few days have been harder than anyone expected. What can you say? It’s been a great race.”

“Levi was in the group in front of me and it was a really hard day,” Peter Velits said. “It was super hard in the beginning. I was in good position once, but I got dropped 1km from the top of the big climb at the end. But it is still better than yesterday, I had a better feeling in my legs, and I am confident.”

“Today was a hard day in the mountains,” Tony Martin said. “The hand was also painful, but OK, I passed two mountain stages now. I am focused on the time trial tomorrow. Tonight I will try to fix a little my position on the bike. We will try to find a good position with the mechanics to tune things up and have a perfect set up for tomorrow. I will try to do my best tomorrow, but it won’t be easy for me.”