Pierre Rolland (Europcar) is the leader of the Tour de France mountain classification, and he’s hard to miss in his polka-dot jersey and shorts. Today he took the single mountain point on offer, but then punctured out of the front group.

Nevertheless, Rolland approved of the action: “It was a great stage,” he said. “Now we are really racing! I went to take a mountain point, and we were still placed in the top group after the climb. But then I had a flat tyre and lost contact.”

“It's a shame because Jérôme Cousin did our part of the work to keep the tempo high and maintain a good position. It’s important to be in front in stages like this. The time loss isn’t crucial because I have no interests to defend in the general classification, but it's never nice to be caught behind.”