Julie Bego (Cofidis): "It was very, very tough. Honestly, halfway through the stage, I wouldn't have believed I'd keep the jersey. I was really in a bad way, completely exhausted, I couldn't even follow the wheels on the flat. I ate a lot, though. But it made me feel like I was hungry. Before that, I managed to narrowly avoid a crash, but my wheel was buckled. So I had to change bikes... and change again to get back to bike number 1, the Tour de France special, which is better than the other one. I was in a bad way, I told the team: "I'm dead, I can't do it anymore." When the climbs arrived, I managed to get back to a decent level, let's say. But today wasn't a great day. The fact that I managed to hang on and keep the white jersey is already good. The girls believed in me throughout the stage and I thank them for that. On the climb, I told myself that I couldn't give up just because of that. In this Tour, I'm discovering new limits. I'm managing to push myself perhaps even harder than in other races."
