"I arrived at this Tour de Suisse full of confidence, because I progressively feel less after-effects of the health problems I've been struggling with last winter. This morning, in our tactical meeting, I was chosen along with Lilian Calmejane and Simone Petilli to join in the breakaway in this first stage. I managed to escape fairly quickly, with four other riders, and I had the impression that I was one of the strongest at the front. I did a lot of pulls and was able to win the first KOM sprint after 42km. In the leading group, there were two duos from the same team, which didn't make it any easier for me in the second sprint. But tactically I managed it quite well, enabling me to keep the lead after this second sprint. At the start, I never imagined I'd be on the podium at the end of this first stage. For a first World Tour stage race, it's a good start. This race will make me again somewhat stronger. Afterwards follows the Belgian championship, a week of rest and my first altitude training camp with the team, a new phase that I'm really looking forward to discovering!"
