00:00Maro Schmidt, you came so close last year in Toulouse.
00:05Finally you have your stage success. What does it feel like?
00:09I can't believe it at the moment. It was an incredibly hard day from the start.
00:15We were keen with the whole team to be there to win a breakaway.
00:20We tried many times already this last couple of days and so far it didn't really go as planned.
00:29I felt really good from the start but it was just full gas from the first minute.
00:37Also the boys came from the back so I could just sit on. I was pretty much perfect.
00:45Were you a bit worried when you had to take on Tejada for the sprint?
00:48Did you have in the back of your mind that sprint against Abrahamson last year in Toulouse?
00:52Yeah, I think it came from my mind many times. I didn't really have an idea how close they were
00:57in the end.
00:58I started to cramp up a little bit with 4k to go so I got a little bit worried.
01:04So I stayed at the back with 2k to go and hoped he would go from the front but then
01:11at some point he forced me to the first position.
01:16And then, yeah, I think I launched it a bit late and the first 50 meters I thought like maybe
01:25it's the same like last year.
01:28And yeah, I think then when I saw the finish line I found my legs again and just went for
01:34it.
01:35It was a masterclass from the team, Jaco Alula with Ben O'Connor, Michael Matthews there, Luke Plapp was there
01:41with you. This is also for them.
01:44Yeah, I would say it's a team effort today. I think in the end I'm the lucky one that stands
01:49on top but it's a whole team, everybody behind the scenes that worked so hard for this.
01:55So I think it's really, it's really a victory for the team and not really for me because, yeah, also
02:02having Plappi there in the end, following all the moves, I think, yeah, he played a really big part.
02:09And also, yeah, playing Ben on the climb, it was, yeah, it was unbelievable because I was a bit worried
02:18the climb might be too hard for me.
02:20And, yeah, at the beginning when Ben paced, it was like maybe, I'm not sure if I can go to
02:26the top like this.
02:28And then I think for me it was quite good that it was a bit like stop and go. So
02:32that suits me better.
02:34And, yeah, then it was also a good situation because I always knew we had bling in the back.
02:42So I was basically the first part of the downhill, just making sure I'm not getting dropped and trying to
02:51put the pace down a little bit.
02:53And then, yeah, I just tried one time and then, yeah, got away.
02:59You've already won a stage on the Giro d'Italia, but this Tour de France stage win, it's a lifetime
03:06dream.
03:06Yeah, I think for sure. I worked super hard for this one. Last year came close. And, yeah, to be
03:16able to win, I think I need a few hours to realize what actually happened today because, yeah, at the
03:24moment I'm still a bit speechless.
03:27We'll start by enjoying the podium. Thank you.
