Michael Rogers continued Tinkoff-Saxo's excellent Tour de France when he won yesterday's Pyrenean stage in impressive fashion. The Australian admits to being surprised that the team has managed to turn around its fortunes after Alberto Contador's withdrawal.

Michael Rogers rocketed away from his rivals on yesterday’s mountain stage. His stage win together with Rafal Majka’s victory on Risoul has definitely revived Tinkoff-Saxo’s Tour de France after team captain Alberto Contador crashed and abandoned on stage 10. Rogers himself was relieved and very delighted for his first stage victory in Tour de France.

“I’ve dreamt of this since I was 7 years old. This is my 10th Tour de France and I absolutely didn’t expect to get a stage win when the Tour started. I’m sorry that Alberto couldn’t be here, but I think that we’ve bounced back and showed that we are a very strong team”, says Michael Rogers.

The 34-year old Australian admits that he didn’t expect two stage wins and the current polka dot jersey in the days following Contador’s exit.

“I must be honest and say that we didn’t have a plan B after stage 10. We had a team in great shape with a lot of experience but the entire set-up revolved around winning the Tour. But in the days after, we created a new plan A and it’s pretty emotional that we actually managed to come back like this”, adds Michael Rogers.

Team Manager, Bjarne Riis, was equally satisfied with the team’s performance and directed his praised towards Michael Rogers’ performance on yesterday’s stage.

“He showed how much having experience actually means. He rode away with so much power at the right moment. He worked hard the entire day in the breakaway and managed to drop everyone but two on the final climb. But on the descent he showed his tactical understanding. For us, on a scale from 1-5 – this win must be a 6’er”, concludes Bjarne Riis.