Asgreen empathizes with fellow escapees after "team time trial": "All four deserved to win"

Kasper Asgreen has won the eighteenth stage of the Tour de France. After a thrilling finale, the Danish Soudal-Quick Step rider emerged as the best of the four-rider breakaway, miraculously holding off the peloton. After the race, he expressed that the victory means a lot to him.

In the flash interview, Asgreen first talks about how the stage unfolded. "Of course, a breakaway of three, later four, was not the ideal scenario. I had hoped to be in an early breakaway with seven or eight riders. Of course, this is still the final week of the Tour de France. We've all had a few very tough weeks. It's not uncommon for a small group to surprise the sprinter teams. So, I always saw it as a possibility."

Asgreen praises his fellow escapees for their hard work during the race. "It was actually like a team time trial. I couldn't have won without the other three guys up front. Jonas (Abrahamsen, ed.), Victor (Campenaerts, ed.), and Pascal (Eenkhoorn, ed.) all rode fantastically, and I believe all four of us deserved to win. We all worked so hard for it. I'm happy that I eventually took the win."

Asgreen dedicates victory to Devenyns

The victory means a lot to the Danish rider, who previously won the Tour of Flanders in 2021. "This is so gratifying. Especially because I have had a tough period since the 2022 Tour of Switzerland. I had to crawl my way back to were I was before. To then take the victory here is incredible. I want to dedicate this win to everyone who has supported me in the past year. I also want to dedicate the win to Dries Devenyns. It's his final Tour and his final season. I saw how emotional he became because of my victory. This one is for him too."