Alex Baudin
" I didn't expect to be playing in the top 10 ".
"I wasn't expecting to be able to challenge for a top 10 place in such a great race. I've been feeling better and better as the stages have gone by, and I've been getting stronger and stronger. Yesterday I felt really good too, and today the team really helped Bruno (Armirail) and me to get into a good position. I was in the best of moods every time at the foot of the bumps, thanks to my mates, and then I was able to make some great climbs. I'm really reaching peak form. That gives me confidence, because I know I'm capable of doing great things in the mountains.
"Satisfaction prevails
Cyril Dessel
"Satisfaction prevails. We arrived at the Tour of the Basque Country with our sights set on a top-10 overall finish and a stage win, because the field was so strong. At the start, we experienced both hot and cold weather: cold weather with Felix Gall's crash, which eliminated him from the race in the overall classification, and then quickly hot weather with Paul Lapeira's very fine victory. That made us change our strategy for the overall classification, and Alex Baudin seized the opportunity. He rode a great race today to claim a top 10 finish.
2
The number
The DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE Team placed two riders in the top 20 of the Tour of the Basque Country. In addition to Alex Baudin's tenth place, Bruno Armirail finished twentieth.
