Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) turned a disastrous Tour de France around when he won the most prestigious stage to Alpe d'Huez with an impressive solo performance.

"The atmosphere up to L'Alpe Huez was impressive," he said. "I've dropped Ryder Hesjedal at the Dutch corner, so I was pushed by the crowd. It's been a great feeling.

"This was a lot of stress and a huge joy in the last 200 meters. On the climb I was in unknown but seeing the red car behind me 500 meters from the finish line ma deme relieved. Finishing on the podium of the Tour and winning her are two very different joys but winning and raise the arms is special. It is beautiful and is the most beautiful win of my career. I have a great team that did the Tour in a great atmosphere and I needed it because it helped me to never give up. I will not change anything in this Tour de France because I gained experience and because I won here.

"I do not know if it is harder for a Frenchman to win in Alpe d'Huez. Croix-de-Fer is a long climb, I made ​​the effort at the end. I anticipated and I was fortunate to be in the right group to reach Bourg-D'Oisans. The gap was necessary to beat Quintana who is stronger. It was an impressive atmosphere, I did not know where I was going, I had chills.

“We had a lot of trouble in the first week, but we knew that we were going to fight until the end and I feel that we deserve this victory, and it’s great for the team. We had a tough race losing William Bonnet and then Steve Morabito. It took us time to overcome the shock of William’s nasty crash. I’ve also been sick and had a mechanical on the cobbles.

"My morale was pretty low after the first four or five days but managed to focus again thanks to a good atmosphere in the team. I need a friendly atmosphere in the team to perform, and we had that at FDJ. I fought till the end. My team-mates also never gave up. That's how Alexandre Geniez went away from the gun today and was a great help when I rejoined him at the front. 

"After the Pyrenees, we bounced back and every day we were in the breakaways, sometimes with 2 or 3 riders . Today Alexandre Géniez was perfect. This victory is deserved. I always said that I wpuld attack every day and I have done that until i got the win.

"I've had hard times during this Tour de France but I never gave up. My morale was low after William Bonnet badly crashed, I was sick and I had a mechanical on the cobblestones. Lack of luck is part of sport, crashes and punctures are part of cycling, it also makes the beauty of cycling.

“I wanted to get to Paris with no regrets and I’ve done that now by winning. Now I can celebrate and hold my head high. It’s my third win of 2015 and my third mountain top finish after also winning in Romandie and the Tour de Suisse. I’m proud of that and think it shows the kind of rider I am.

“Maybe a stage win looks less than third place in 2014 but it’s a positive Tour de France for me and an interesting one for my future. I usually chase attacks and follow the favourites but after the crashes, I became attacker myself.

“For the French, l’Alpe d’Huez is one of the most prestigious finishes for a French rider. It was definitely a beautiful stage to win.

"In this Tour, I do not progress. I finished 16th overall and some may think that this is a step back but I finished the Tour well. This Tour is important for the rest of my career. And this season, I'm happy to have 3 wins in the Tour de Romandie, the Tour de Suisse and the Tour de France. I will not return empty-handed to Paris.

“When Bardet won I was disappointed with my own performance but it was the day after my crash on the descent of the Col d’Allos. But crashes and punctures are part of cycling and makes it a beautiful sport. Getting back up and winning is important.”

"I managed my only effort, said Geniez. "I knew the descent of the Croix de Fer and didn't lose time. Then I had the luck to have tailwind in the valley. I knew that Thibaut was behind. I turned around and saw him arrive. I saw that he looked good and I thought it was 'now or never'. I helped him. The heat was bad for him early in the Tour and here we can see it. He finished 4 th with the favorites in La Toussuire, it was not a fluke. For a team, wins are what counts. "