Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) was again in contention for a Tour de France stage win but in the end he had to settle for 10th in stage 16.

"Given how much we fought to be in front, how much energy we had used and that we had the gap of 20 minutes, I believed in it," he told L'Equipe. "Of course. A rider who does not believe in it, has no place in the break. Before the finish, there was nine kilometers climb and I was not able to reach the top with the best. Anyway, it was for second place. I was dropped in the last kilometer.

"I must look at the stage from the beginning. We did not get to the finish after eating lunch at the restaurant. Today, there was 23 riders in the break but we did ​​95 kilometers with a dozen riders in front and a dozen riders at 50 seconds. That is not a transitional stage. We rode like freaks. We rode like a team time trial over 95 kilometers. It was a huge battle between the two groups.

"Every year we say it is hard. Every day there is a fight but it's been the same for a few years. In the last five or six editions, it is hard to find a winner who is not a renowned rider. It is no different this year as we ride fast even in the transitional stages. The riders go for it. In Paris we will be empty but that's our job. There are so many issues."