Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma), in an official interview:
"The team guided me very well round the course today. I would like to thank my sports management for that. I felt great. It was the best time trial I've ever ridden. I'm very proud of what I did today and very proud of the win. Today I surprised myself with the time trial. I didn't expect to do so well. There are still many difficult stages to come. The next few days we will have to fight. We are looking forward to it."
... Jonas Vingegaard on the approach to the time trial: "The time trial was divided into three, maybe four parts. First the flat section, then the climb. You ride very hard up to the climb, then you push a bit harder on the climb and try to recover on the descent, then try to hold back a bit on the flat. On the last climb it was just full throttle. But you had to hold back a bit for the last flatter section."
Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates), at letour.fr:
"I'm a bit surprised because I had the feeling that I was riding a solid time trial. But in the end the gap is big. At the beginning I orientated myself on Wout van Aert's times and told myself that I was on the right track because I was making up time on him. Anyway, I gave it my all. It's not over yet, because we have a very difficult stage tomorrow. We will try to find a plan and implement it, but it will certainly be difficult to make up almost two minutes. Hopefully I can recover like I did in the Pyrenees after losing time on the Col de Marie-Blanque."
Matxin Fernandez (Manager UAE Team Emirates), on Eurosport:
"That was a day we didn't expect. It's never good when your rival makes up so much time. He (Jonas Vingegaard; editor's note) was just so much stronger. I can't explain it. I can only congratulate Vingegaard. That was a sensational ride. He (Tadej Pogacar; editor's note) wanted to make up some time with the wheel change. In our opinion, it was the best tactical move. But we didn't expect the time gap to be so big. There are still opportunities to make up time before Paris. We will not give up. That's the DNA of our team. We will try to take first place, but we are currently second and third."
Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), on Eurosport:
"We finally have our first stage win. It was an incredible effort. Jonas was exceptional - faster than me. After the last few stages, I didn't expect there to be such a big gap. He (Jonas Vingegaard; editor's note) was very strong today. He has improved more and more in the time trial over the last few years. That's a big advantage for him. I think I was the best of the 'normal riders' today and I'm satisfied. Two minutes gap is incredible. It's difficult to understand what happened. We've seen throughout the Tour de France that these two are so much stronger than the other riders. It's not over yet. But he has taken a big step to secure the yellow jersey. We won the Tour de France last year and it looks really good. But a few years ago we lost the Tour de France late on. We have to stay focussed until after Paris. The next stages will be tough and decisive."
Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma), at Eurosport:
"It was a difficult course and you had to organise the race well. Jonas did a great job. That gives us a boost. Before the time trial, nobody could have guessed who would lead afterwards. We will continue like this and stick to our plan. If Jonas feels good, he can try to attack. Because the last mountain stage is short, lots of ups and downs. The Col de la Loze tomorrow is a very difficult climb. The race can also be decided there. If you've made up time today, you can lose some tomorrow. We have to stay focussed."
Simon Yates (Team Jayco-AlUla), on Eurosport:
"I feel okay. I had two bad days recently. My time trial was okay. I lost some ground at the end. That happened to everyone. It was a very demanding course. I'm not really happy with my place in the overall classification. I had hoped for more. The performances are good, but the level is really high at the moment. If there's an opportunity, I'll try something else."
