Michael Matthews paid tribute to his wife after his win on stage ten of the 103rd Tour De France.
Matthews told ASO: “It's unbelievable. I was just sinking in. I was close to giving in at this race after I had two bad crashes two and one years ago. This time around, I've crashed three times already. I thought maybe this race is not for me but my wife came during the rest day. We had a good talk. She kept me motivated and today my dream comes true.
"It was never the plan to go for a breakaway today. We wanted a bunch sprint finish but we're such a strong group of guys. Durbridge and Impey gave me everything to win today. I have no word to describe what they did for me. They did a special job.
"At the top of the climb [Port d'Envalira], with Sagan and Nibali, I wasn't sure of what was going to happen but I heard on the radio that Luke Durbridge and Daryl Impey were coming across and it made me believe that I could win the stage. Luke rode in the crosswinds, he split the break in two pieces. We still kept guys in the finale that would be hard to beat so Impey attacked and let me out. I couldn't ask for more from them. They would have been disappointed if I hadn't won but today I did. I'm delighted.
"Me and Sagan, we've had a lot of head to head. At the Tour de Suisse, he beat me twice. I knew he was the man to beat today. He was the strongest of the breakaway for sure. He was always pulling. He never sat on. He did everything for the breakaway to succeed. He was the guy to follow. I was hoping I'd have the legs to follow him. At the Tour de Suisse, I didn't but it all came together well today. He often beat me before but today I got him, thanks to my team-mates.
"To win a Tour de France stage was the biggest goal of my season but it's not the end of the race yet. As a team, we'll try to go for more.”
Race leader Chris Froome said: "It was a pretty strange start. Obviously for us, there was a lot of work to do. We were happy with the breakaways that were going but at some stage,
"Valverde attacked so we had to neutralize that. We were not able to see much in the downhill of Envalira due to the fog. It was a bit like at the Giro a few years ago when Quintana slipped up the front so I was keeping an eye on him to make sure he wouldn't do the same again.
"Then it was a good day to keep off. I could ride with not much to worry about. It was never a consideration to let the jersey go, even though Adam Yates is very close on GC.
"Especially the way the team is riding, we're happy to have the jersey on our shoulders and the responsibility of the race. It's always difficult to plan these kinds of stages between the mountains and tomorrow will be something similar.
"I'm glad I managed to take a good rest and catch some sleep yesterday. I'm already focused on the Ventoux on Thursday and the time trial on Friday.”
Adam Yates who stays second said: “The first climb was pretty full gas as always. It's always difficult to start a stage uphill. But we have a great team. Four of guys were at the front of the race at Port d'Envalira. We couldn't get the success we wanted in the first week but now we have it with Michael Matthews. He's pretty quick. When he has an opportunity to win, he usually makes the best of it. He's won everywhere. He was won a lot of bike races. He just hadn't won at the Tour de France yet. Today we knew if we'd get over the first climb, we could try and win the stage. None of the other teams had so many riders at the front. It went all down to the team's plan.”