Tour de France – “Drecksberg”: Lennard Kämna quarrels after a brutal finale on the gravel – votes 7th stage

Lennard Kämna (Bora – hansgrohe / fourth of the day): “It was super hard. I felt great and still had real power on the pedals. In the end it wasn’t quite enough. I knew it would be tight with the small gap that we still had and I can’t blame myself. I’m mine The rhythm picked up and didn’t collapse. But when it gets that steep, it’s just ten seconds quicker. I couldn’t have gone a second faster. It’s just annoying that we still have to ride this mountain of dirt at the end.”

Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates / Stage Winner and Yellow Jersey): “It was very difficult – especially at the end when Jonas attacked. He was so strong but I told myself that my boys had been working for me all day and so I had to push to the finish line. In my head I have had saved this stage for a long time. It was a big goal to win here. Jonas is one of the strongest climbers, if not the strongest in the world. He rides well. Gaining a little time is always good. In cycling there is no advantage , which is large enough.”

Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo – Visma / Second): “It’s a brutal final. I tried it but when he (Pogacar) passed me with 20 meters to go I had no answer. It was damn close but I can be satisfied. Hopefully I’ll be on the longer ones Climbs even better. Legs were good.”

Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers / stage fifth and third overall): “I’d like to say I held back today. But that wasn’t the case. At the beginning of the final climb I saved some for the end because it’s so steep. I think it was okay. I’m with the same Time at the finish, like Roglic – that fits quite well. It’s good that we’re all still at the top of the overall rankings and are going into the next two weeks like this – we haven’t had a decent mountain stage yet. We’ll try to use our majority well , don’t attack at will.”

Adam Yates (Ineos Grenadiers / stage ninth and fourth overall): “We got into the last hill well, knowing how steep it is and didn’t want to get caught up in any problems. In the end it was okay when it went onto the gravel. I like to get out of the saddle, but you can do that here I didn’t. That’s why I suffered until the finish. Geraint (Thomas) was there, he was the best of us. You never know what happens in the third week. We’ll continue and maybe one day we’ll be the happier. “

Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora – hansgrohe / stage 26th, 1:39 minutes behind): “I had a pain in my back today from yesterday’s crash. It was tough for me, especially in the last part of the race. I tried not to lose too much time. A bad day for me but I hope to recover now recover quickly.”

Simon Geschke (Cofidis / Most Combative Driver): “We wanted to be in the break today, either with me or with Ion Izagirre. It was nice to be up front. I was also happy to have ten guys on board. But in the end, UAE Team Emirates wanted to win today.”

Maximilian Schachmann (Bora – hansgrohe / part of the breakaway): “We would be happy if Lennard were now on the podium. Of course that’s extremely annoying. Lennard drove a great race and I noticed early on that my leg wasn’t good today. Yesterday I got along at the beginning and at the end Aleks turned it out too much. I felt that clearly today. I drove full for Lennard on the flat – annoying that it wasn’t enough.”