Stage Twelve winner Joaquim Rodriquez has said that he managed to savour his victory on the Plateau De Beille.
The Katusha rider said: "After the first two Pyrenean stages, my morale was pretty low. The only way to make it today was to break away. I always said I was coming to the Tour for GC but since I'm out of contention, I focus on stage wins. I've had a hungerflat at La Pierre-Saint-Martin. It hit me badly. I was strenghtless. Yesterday, I crashed in the neutral zone and my hip was hurting.
"I like this climb to Plateau de Beille. I live about fifty kilometers away. I've come here a thousand times and I've dreamt of winning here a thousand times. Last time I was here training with Alberto Losada, I had a flat tyre but I didn't bring a spare one so I called my wife, she came to pick us up and we rode here again the day after. Today I've seen many acquaintances on the road side, people who came here to cheer on me. I wouldn't say the last kilometers were easy but I managed to savour my victory. Everyone wanted to win here and it was even harder due to the weather conditions.
"It means a lot to me to have won two stages at the Tour this year. I have never won a Grand Tour but it doesn't mean that I don't deserve it. I just haven't had the luck that is the trademark of the big champions."
Michal Kwiatkowski said: "I couldn't handle the power of the climbers in the last hill but I'm happy that I've tried to win the stage. I had to believe in the possibility to win but it was very difficult to stay away with Sep Vanmarcke. I've fought till the end. I went full gas to stay away from the climbers. I must congratulate Rodriguez. He was the strongest. After a few days with such a heat, it wasn't that bad to see the temperature cooling down.
Nairo Quintana said: "It's been a difficult stage with very hard climbs and changes of temperature. The rain hasn't helped. We've tried. We've attacked but the rival [Chris Froome] defended himself very well. He controlled my attacks, those of Alejandro [Valverde], Alberto [Contador], Vincenzo [Nibali] but we'll try to dethrone him until the last day. I hope to keep this level because I believe good things can happen."
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