Clément Champoussin: "No regrets
"It was a good stage. I did a lot of work at the beginning of the race to get into the breakaway. When we went out, I felt that I had already left a few cartridges. I managed to recover a little bit but on the last climb I missed some.
I tried to anticipate with one kilometer to go. I was hoping they would look at each other but they reacted quickly. There are no regrets, they were better than me.
I feel the form is there, I've been riding around since the beginning of this Vuelta with several breakaways. There are still some great opportunities."[/su_quote]
[su_quote cite=Bob Jungels]
Bob Jungels: "Beaten by stronger people
"This is the first time I've been in a breakaway in this Vuelta. I felt good but I didn't have the legs to follow the best on the last climb.
When the beginning of the stage is flat, it's hard to know how it will feel in the end. Clément (Champoussin) was better than me but we were beaten by stronger riders.
It's a bit frustrating when you spend all day at the front and you don't win, but that's sport. I'm happy to be back in good shape."[/su_quote]
The number: 8
After seventeen stages of the Vuelta a Espana, Ben O'Connor is eighth overall.
News: AG2R CITROËN team wins the team classification
The AG2R CITROËN team won the team classification of the seventeenth stage of the Vuelta a Espana.
"It was a satisfying day for the AG2R CITROËN team, even if the objective was to win. There are no regrets. Bob (Jungels) anticipated before the climb and Clément (Champoussin) did the same thing at the red light, it could have worked. We had a stronger rider.
Ben (O'Connor) had a great finish. He lost a few seconds on the main leaders but gained some on Thymen Arensman, which is interesting.
Today was the first of four battles until Saturday and it was pretty good. I hope the guys will put the same intensity in the following days to achieve our goals," said Julien Jurdie, sport director of the AG2R CITROËN team.
