Thibaut Pinot survived a potentially dangerous day when he finished with the best in today's stage 11 of the Tour de France. Usually excelling in cold conditions, the Frenchman was pleased to have got safely through the first hot day of the race.

Thibaut Pinot usually likes to ride in cold and rain and so has excelled in the first part of the Tour de France. Today he faced his first very ot day and he was pleased to survive without any time loss.

"As I had expected, the first heat hurt," he said. "It's hard to adjust after ten days of rain and even more so when we ride fast all day on small roads. This stage was described as a transitional stage but it was not the case and it is not the kind of stage that I like. It was always up or down."

"In the end, it was stressful because it was very very fast and it is inevitable that riders leave gaps. There were some but it was never difficult to get back. I'm pleased with Tony Gallopin's victory. I know him well. He is a big engine but he amazed me. He was smart but he needed to be to get out of the group with Sagan.

"Tomorrow I hope a breakaway will make it and that we will have a quieter finale in the peloton but my legs are fine."

Pinot's teammate Arthur Vichot has a sore throat and needs to recover to be competitive again.