With a solid ride to 25th, Bretagne leader Eduardo Sepulveda moved into 20th in the overall standings after stage 12 of the Tour de France.

"For the first time perhaps since the beginning in Utrecht I am satisfied with my performance here in the Tour. I entered Top 20 and we are at the exit of the Pyrenees. Three days ago I was 38th overall and the objective of  a top 20 seemed impossible," he said.

"Today, I was delighted with the temperature change. I prefer sunshine over the rain we had in the late stage, but not the heat like yesterday, which probably cost me a lot of time after the Tourmalet. I felt a little tired early in the stage but I felt better on the Port de Lers. And I did not panick when I was distanced from the Yellow Jersey group. I knew I needed to stay in agroup with the headwind on the climb to Plateau de Beille. I did well.

 
"We are not in Paris but this Top 20 is reward for all the work I have made since I turned pro. Especially during the last month I have trained very hard in the mountains. I want to thank the team as the guys are great to shelter me, position me, encourage me.

"Eduardo has learned the lesson of the day: in the Tour you have to know when to let go when you are riding with the best. Otherwise you can lose a lot. I saw him fight with great conviction to stay in the group with Gallopin. It was essential due to the headwind and it would have been very tough if he was alone. We had a good day, in a stage that we were worried about with the temperature at the start. Anthony Delaplace and Frédéric Brun were in the break but it was complicated with Rodriguez, Fuglsang, Bardet. I motivated them so that they could do well for the teams classification. We gained two places (19th). I will consider it  an I would like us to see us improve in the Alps."

"It was necessary for us to be in front today," Delaplace said. "We missed it yeserday, even though I knew that a breakaway in the mountains is hard for me. You are always up against some very good climbers. It was the case again . I had already experienced this last year in the Luchon stage. I held on as long as I could on the Port de Lers. If I had stayed with the best, I could have done something at the finish but it was too fast. I have no regrets even if I probably used a little strength to catch the group when I saw that it was a bit disorganized. It is perhaps not for me to do that but it is my nature."

"We knew that we had to wait until after the intermediate sprint," Brun said. "I followed the attacks but of course I was not able to stay with the best. It is satisfying to be in front on the third day in the Pyrenees. At the end of the second week, I realize that I have difficulty climbing at my usual level. Emmanuel Hubert asked me to fight on the final ascent for the teams classification and it was a good thing. I still could hang onto a strong group (with Kangert, Durasek, Bakelants)."