We are not giving in

“This stage is going to be brutal even though it is short. There isn’t a single flat stretch and by then we will have done three days in the mountains. We are definitely going to put up a fight to keep Alberto on the podium and possibly even improve his current position. We are aware of the fact that Froome has a big gap but anything can happen in sport. It would be nice if I and Alberto finished up on the podium but it is not going to be easy to stand up to Quintana and Rodriguez. We are all fighting a very close battle and I expect that the final climb will be crucial. It is the last ascent of the Tour and I can promise that all our team is going to give it our best,” said Roman Towards the end the Saxo-Tinkoff team was really active in driving the main bunch. “Our tactics was to stay together for as much time as possible. When you have one bad day it is important that the team sticks together,” Roman said. On the last ascent he was setting the pace for Alberto. When his biggest rivals accelerated shortly before the last summit he was unable to follow. “It stands to reason that when you pull a bunch for 6km on a climb that then you are not able to hold on to those who attack and were riding behind you. But I remained relaxed because I knew that climb and  I lost contact with only 700m before the summit so I was sure to bridge the gap on the downhill, which I actually did.”