Paul Lapeira
"The collective work was incredible".
"I won twice three weeks ago in the Coupe de France, but now I'm coming to a WorldTour race where the level is completely different and I'm also winning, which is great. I tried to attack for the first time at 1500 metres, but the peloton wouldn't let me go and came straight after me. I then decided to get up for the sprint. Bruno (Armirail) came to pick me up and put me back in the pack at 700 metres, and he did the rest until the 200-metre mark. When I saw that things were starting to pick up again, I launched my sprint, and that did it! It's so good!"
The news
Felix Gall down in the final stretch
Team leader Felix Gall crashed on the final stretch towards Cambo-les-Bains. The roads were made slippery by the rain at the end of the stage. Felix was soon back on the road with the help of Nans Peters, who gave him his bike.
7
The number
Valentin Retailleau takes a top-10 WorldTour finish with a fine seventh place at the end of the second stage of the Tour of the Basque Country. Bruno Armirail takes ninth place overall, 24 seconds behind leader Primoz Roglic. With his victory, Paul also moves up to 11th place overall.
