Michal Kwiatkowski raised his arms in the Tour de France in 2020, a great mountain stage in which he crossed the finish line with his teammate Richard Carapaz, who did not dispute the arrival. This Friday, on the thirteenth day of this Grande Boucle, the Pole repeated his success from another breakaway, achieving his second partial victory in the French round at the top of the Grand Colombier.
“I was with 18 friends on the run. I have not believed anything in winning, but when I reached the bottom of the port with 4 minutes I saw that it was possible. The Emirates was shooting and we had considered being on the break to see if someone from the general classification could enter. With 8 km to go I saw that I could do it. It’s very special. Here we spent great years in the team with Bernal”, explained Kwiatkowski in the mixed zone at the end of the stage.
His teammate Carlos Rodríguez, who gave up a few seconds in the final meters of the ascent, was satisfied despite the small loss of time: “Good feelings. We were able to put ‘Kwiato’ on the break and he won, very happy in that regard. Today it was going a bit to accelerations and in the end I lacked a bit of spark. The others were cooler than me. I’m glad I stayed there until the end. I’ve been missing legs, but hopefully the weekend will go better. The important thing is not to have wasted a lot of time, not to have had a bad day. I am happy with the sensations. We wanted a victory, we have fought for it and few deserve it more than ‘Kwiato’. Now to celebrate. Hopefully, both work for me, I don’t have any marked in particular. I hope to enjoy the race, hopefully it will go well and we will gain some time. Yes, they both look like they’re playing a video game and their legs don’t hurt.”