For the second time in this year's Tour de France, Tony Gallopin was the man in the spotlight when he won today's stage 11 after a late solo attack. Having won the Clasica San Sebastian, the Frenchman has larned that he needs to ride aggressively instead of waiting for a sprint.

Tony Gallopin has won the eleventh stage of the Tour de France in an impressive way. In the streets of Oyonnax he could stay ahead of a chase group. After he conquered the yellow jersey on Sunday and could wear it for one day, this is another dream come true for the 26-year-old Frenchman. It’s his first victory for the team and the second one of Lotto Belisol this Tour.
 
After the last climb of the day that was classified, there came an uphill section. That’s where Tony Gallopin attacked a first time. He stayed ahead in the descent. Four kilometers from the end he got the company of Kwiatkowski, Rogers and Sagan. Gallopin tried it again on his own. He could hold off a chase group in which John Degenkolb sprinted to place two and Matteo Trentin took the third place.
 
Because world champion Rui Costa lost time, Jurgen Van den Broeck moves up one place In GC. He’s now tenth at 4’18” of Nibali. Gallopin stays in fifth.

“Have I become another rider? No. I don't think so," he said. "I always try to follow my path but I don't attack enough. I often focus on riders like Sagan and I finish 5th, 6th… I should always ride the way I did in San Sebastian last year. I have an inferiority complex in relation to the best riders.

"My attacks in today's finale weren't planned. I had sore legs all day. This morning I was convinced that the breakaway would work.

"I came for a training camp in Les Rousses not far from here with my father Joël and my fiancé Marion [Rousse]. We rode the course of today's stage but not the last five kilometers at the entrance of Oyonnax so when I felt better with 20km to go, I called my team car to ask [Lotto-Belisol team manager] Marc Sergeant to show me the road book. It gave me some ideas. It would be a finale for punchers.

"I didn't want another sprint of 20 or 30 riders like in Sheffield or Nancy. I tried my luck in the small hill that wasn't categorized but I knew it. When the three guys came across [Sagan, Kwiatkowski, Rogers], I knew I had no chance to beat them in a sprint, so I had to go again.

"To win a stage and to take the yellow jersey deliver different feelings. The Maillot Jaune, I was thinking about for five before I got it. I had mentalized it. But today, until one hundred metres to go, I didn't believe I could win, so the emotion is stronger than for the yellow jersey. I felt more lost after the finish today.

"From the team car, I heard ‘go' a few times, and ‘don't look back' but I did with 100 metres to go. That's when I realized it. It was fantastic!

"It could sound pretentious but I'm not surprised by my performances at the Tour de France. I've always had the confidence of my relatives and my team. Before the Tour, Marc Sergeant had been clear: I was here to help but also to look for a stage win.

"It wasn't easy. The level is high but I'm a consistent rider. I'm often in the shadow of the big names but I was expecting to come out of it. It's a dream come true.

"I've experienced so mixed feelings in a couple of days: I was over the moon when I took the yellow jersey, the next day was a nightmare on the bike and now I'm a Tour de France stage winner. It's incredible.

"I had done a recon of today’s stage. I knew what was coming: that there was an uphill section of over one and a half kilometer after the last official climb, where it was steep and narrow. And that there was a descent towards Oyonnax afterwards. I didn’t know the last kilometers too well. Because I felt good and the break was controlled by Cannondale and Orica GreenEdge I decided to go to the team car to study the last five kilometers.

“A few hundred meters before the top of that last climb I took off and went down full gas. The gap was never big. When the three others joined me I stayed in the wheel the next two kilometers, then I attacked. I knew the others would hesitate. Sagan because he would lose power for the sprint and the two others wouldn’t be able to jump away themselves afterwards. I wasn’t thinking anymore at the end. I wanted to reach the finish as soon as possible. It’s a crazy feeling.
 
“Up till now I performed well in the stages I had marked. I got fifth in Sheffield and third in Nancy. On Sunday I took the yellow jersey. We’re on the right track. The team already had a victory with André Greipel. We did a fantastic job up till now collectively.

"Jurgen van den Broeck is tenth now and the goal the next ten stages is to get him as high as possible in GC. The nice thing about the team is that we get results with different riders. The atmosphere is great and we will continue in the same way.”