Victor Campenaerts claimed greatest victory of his career in stage 18 of the Tour de France and was very emotional in the post-race interview.
“I got a lot of confidence from the team, I said I wanted to win a Tour stage and that it was my main objective, next to the Spring Classics that were not so good as expected,” he said.
“I wanted to do a nine week altitude camp because nowadays they ride so fast, you have to do something different. I was there all the time with my pregnant girlfriend; she gave birth two weeks before we left Sierra Nevada.
“Of those nine weeks, I think for about four weeks, the team was there, too, so I had some company. And a lot of riders prepared for the Tour de France at Sierra Nevada.
“But I was there the first and I left there the last, I saw everybody coming and everybody leaving. It’s maybe not the most inspirational place on earth, but I think now I can say it was worth it.”
“In December we were already sure to go to the Tour with Arnaud De Lie, who’s a very good sprinter. And we wanted to do everything for sprints, and we did very well, even though we’re not the most experienced Tour team. But there was a good atmosphere in the team, building up and learning from day to day.”
“Of course, we hoped for a win [with De Lie], but I’m extremely happy to take the win for the squad as the old guy in the team.”
“Preparing the Tour, I was together with my girlfriend and son supporting me – you can’t imagine how much”.
“The time trial and first rest day I was with them as it was quite close to Belgium and they could come over with the car, as it’s not so easy to fly with a newborn child. Then we spent quite a lot of the rest day together, the maximum time we could, and I was very happy to do that.
“I don’t know if you were there [on the rest day] with your own people, but you want to be with them. But it’s not possible to do the Tour de France and be at home at the same time.
“So there’s just three more hard days to ride, and then I can go home to our little family.”
