The second week of the Tour de France was concluded this Sunday with a sprint in the streets of Carcassonne. In extreme hot weather circumstances, this fifteenth stage of more than 200 kilometer was first animated by a breakaway of two riders until they were caught with 50 kilometer to go, just before the Côte de Cammazes.
Several teams tried to get rid of the sprinters, among whom Alexander Kristoff and Andrea Pasqualon. But with a serious effort both riders managed to make the junction with the small peloton. With the help of the Norwegian rider, Pasqualon took ninth place. It was his second top ten in this Tour and the seventh for the team. Louis Meintjes reached the finish in the same time as the winner and stays in seventh position in the general classification.
« One day before the rest day, we didn’t expect an easy day for the sprinters. So we were prepared for the accelerations in the final. Kobe Goossens felt good and didn't lose Louis Meintjes out of sight. Alexander Kristoff, Andrea Pasqualon and Georg Zimmermann managed to get back to the peloton after the descent of the final climb. Our riders gathered together around Louis because of the risk of crosswinds in the final 10 kilometer before focusing on the sprint. Andrea and Alexander gave a lot in this heat to be present and in the end we achieved another top ten. » « As a team we can be satisfied about the two first weeks of this Tour. We raced aggressively and each day we fought actively for a precise goal. Several riders obtained good results, we were present in most of the important breakaways and our GC leader is in seventh position with only six stages to go. Finishing in the top ten in Paris with Louis Meintjes remains our main goal in this difficult third and final week. We will also continue racing aggressively to chase a stage win, after finishing close in Arenberg and on Alpe d'Huez! »
