Quote from Armstrong on stage 3:
1)“You know what the wind's doing, you see a turn's coming up, so it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that you have to go to the front. I wasn't waiting, just trying to stay up front and stay out of trouble and then it happened," rationalized Armstrong.
2) "I've won the Tour de France seven times, why wouldn't you ride at the front? That makes no sense, why wouldn't you ride?"
3) I'd prefer to stay out of the drama of who's the leader of the team. I've won the Tour seven times, I think I deserve a little bit of credit. But Alberto's a great rider too and we've got to go with the two leaders, but that doesn't mean you can't take advantage of opportunities like today."
Quote from Johann Bruyneel on stage 3
"We were studying the map all day, and the wind direction was the opposite of what we expected; then all of a sudden it was there. It was definitely not a plan for us to be at the front, it just happened," he said.
Quote from Tony Martin on Stage 3
"The other teams weren’t going to help us close the gap [to the break] but with 40km {actually at 32km to go - ed.] to go we made a right [turn] and the wind was coming from the left hand side-I asked the guys to just do 5km as hard as they could. We opened up an echelon and the rest was done."
Quote from Mark Cavendish on stage 3
“There was no tactic to split the field- We knew it was going to be windy, so it was a case of staying in the front. Saxo Bank rode all day, they did a perfect job, and there was no other team of sprinters who wanted to take the race on. It was lucky for us.-We didn't plan it, it just so happened that we were at the front when the wind changed. At that time, it seemed like the perfect moment, so we went. But it wasn't planned 10 minutes before, or even 30 seconds before, it just happened at the right time and that's when we hit it."
Quote from Alberto Contador on stage 3
"I wasn't waiting [for the attack]," he added. "I was just trying to stay up front, out of trouble. [Columbia] were on the front, chasing the breakaway. It wasn't an attack: they turned, saw the wind and accelerated. It wasn't as if it was an ambush – they were already [at the front], so if anything it was an acceleration.
Quote from Armstrong on stage 7
"That wasn't really to the plan, but I didn't expect him to go by the plan, so [it was] no
surprise- it was windy, so it was hard to be alone in the wind.- But the climb - and the headwind - may have been a factor in keeping the main group largely intact. It's not a very steep climb, so the speed is high, and there were constant rhythm changes as it changed from headwind to tailwind, headwind to tailwind.
Quote from Johann Bruyneel on stage 7
"The stage decided who was the strongest. This morning, we didn't give any specific instructions. I just told them [Contador and Armstrong] to talk to each other, and do what they have to do. Alberto was strong; he is a great climber and there are three summit finishes at this Tour. So this was one of his possibilities today.
Quote from Christian Vande Velde on Stage 7
I'm really happy, I felt really good," said Vande Velde. "I definitely had to dig deep in the end, and there was quite a headwind.”
Quote from Alberto Contador on Stage 7
"I wanted to take advantage of this stage but it was hard with the headwind-I would have liked to get more time on them but I'm happy."
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