Swiss veteran cyclist Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) satisfied with third place in the second stage of the Tour de France, a position that earns him the yellow jersey, makes him the new leader, and an important personal triumph in what could be his last participation in the Tour.
"When I arrived in Utrecht I said that this could be my last Tour and that I didn't want to leave empty-handed. Next year it starts at Mont-Saint-Michel without a time trial, so yesterday was my big opportunity and I was very disappointed not to have been able to get the yellow jersey," he said.
With 29 days wearing the yellow jersey throughout his long professional career, the Swiss admitted that with this jersey he puts an end to a streak of "bad luck" that he has experienced in recent years. "After my fall in March of this year, I spent a month without getting on the bike and for the first time I enjoyed a season at home with my family," he said.
"Every movement I made was painful. In 2012, I was happy with my return to competition in the Tour des Fjords, but I got sick before the Tour de Suisse and I had a really hard time. I didn't see any signs of improvement until last week. Now I have closed the chapter of bad luck," he confessed.
'Spartacus' admitted that he had enough strength in the sprint to win the stage if it had lasted ten meters more. "We passed through a small town with roundabouts and the peloton broke up. I wanted to conserve energy for the sprint but I didn't have much left with 25 kilometers to go. I had to push hard. I looked at the wheels of the three sprinters and gave it my all. With 10 more meters, I may have won, but I'm happy to have gotten the yellow jersey," he analyzed.
Regarding the third stage of the Tour de France, Cancellara admitted that he knows what he has to do to achieve a beneficial result. "I've never climbed the Mur de Huy, but I don't see this stage as a Fleche Wallonne but as a stage of the Tour de France. I know what I have to do, it's quite similar to today: position myself at the front and avoid chaos. I hope not to lose much time tomorrow and be able to recover it on the cobbles," he concluded.