Though Team Garmin-Transitions is down two of its sprinters, Julian Dean did not let that hinder him on stage 18. ‘Kiwi Guy’ was put into position by strong riding from Martijn Maaskant and David Millar, allowing him to contest the sprint.
“I’m happy with it,” Dean said about his second place.
“When we opened up the sprint [Cavendish] was clearly faster, but second was good. Of course I would love to win as we all would!”
Dean said that the run to the finish was a little complicated by a strong headwind. “It was pretty hectic coming in because it was a headwind along the river. It was hard for any team to string it out.”
“I did have help there with Martijn and David Millar is getting back into form — I had enough help there and got into position.”
When asked about his chances for the final stage on Sunday in Paris, Dean smiled and said, “It’s a sprint day as we all know. I’ve done it a few times and have some ideas of how to attack it.”
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