In the territory of the Somme, where more than a million lives were lost in the First World War, André Greipel won the first battle of pure speed: "In Zeeland, I did not surpass all the sprinters of this Tour. In Amiens, yes. I achieved a great victory against the world's best specialists. I always like to stay ahead of people like Sagan, Kristoff or Cavendish. It is exciting for me to be able to dedicate it to the memory of those who died in the Great War."

On a less solemn note, the Gorilla (as he is nicknamed, a drawing of the animal decorates his bike) of Lotto Soudal thanked his teammates for their work: "Gallopin and Seberg placed me perfectly so that I could finish. I miss Henderson (with strong abrasions and rib injuries), but we will celebrate nonetheless. Two out of two is not a bad percentage, right?". He has more doubts about achieving the green jersey: "It is my other major goal, although I do not know how I will face so many days in the mountains. Sagan has an advantage there". At the moment, he is 32 points ahead in the classification.