Team Argos-Shimano had mixed fortunes in the Tour de France on Friday as Tom Veelers was compelled to abandon the race, while Tom Dumoulin finished 13th on the day.

“It is not easy to step out of the Tour the France, especially when you are so close to the finish,” Veelers said. “I tried to get the maximum out myself, but today my body said no more. It has already been a difficult past few days and today was yet another tough one. Team Sky started to control the race with a fast tempo. This was already tough for me and I cracked on the mountain. I hoped to get closer to the peloton and find a group, but it did not happen. My body is just not fresh enough. I can still look back on a fantastic Tour for our team, with three stage wins and a day in the yellow jersey. I played a part in our success and we surpassed our goals.”

Tom Dumoulin admitted to being in difficulties on the Madeleine ascent, but he recovered to join the breakaway group only to be dropped on the final climb of the day. However, he still feels content with his result and his form:

“It was a hard day in the saddle today, and actually I did not felt that great. I had a difficult moment on the Madeleine but came back to the group on the downhill and from that moment I felt better and better and got more into the race. On the last climb I just could not follow, I gave my all but this was the maximum. I pushed until the line and finished 13th, not bad for a stage like this. I am still surprised by how good my form is so far through this race.”