Coming into the third stage of the Tour de France, the Argyle Express was battered and bruised — and one fewer with Christian Vande Velde having to abandon with broken ribs suffered in stage 2. But the ‘never say die’ attitude shone through, and especially with Canadian Ryder Hesjedal, who initiated the day’s main break, attacked it solo at the penultimate moments over the famed cobbles and sprinted for victory at the end.
Hesjedal’s fourth place on the day moved him up to fourth overall and gave him the most aggressive award for his efforts.
“We needed a day like today,” said Hesjedal.
“Saying goodbye to Christian this morning at the hotel this morning was hard — he’s not just a teammate and our leader, he’s a close friend. We went into tday knowing that a lot of us were really injured, but that we were and are still capeable of producing a great ride.”
“I initiated the break and was able to stay with it all day. I think my mountain biking background was really helpful on the cobbles — it brought it all back to me. ”
“A win would have been nice but I’m really proud of how the team rode; despite all of their injuries. We’ll keep taking it day by day and hope for more days like this one!”
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