"It was a little bit lucky because [Sonny] Colbrelli was coming close. My teammates did a very good job, from the middle of the stage they were pulling in the front. They brought me into a good position for the final climb, and Sky started to go full gas, [Philippe] Gilbert came over and tried to attack, but we caught him. I think that [Greg] Van Avermaet started too early and in the end he pulled a very good sprint for me and Colbrelli.
"When you are in the Tour de France, everything is a little bit different but yes, the parcour was a little bit like the Ardennes: up, down, left, right and a little bit narrow roads. It was a nice parcour.
"There were a little bit less points than normally. I think just 30 points but it was better than nothing. Tomorrow is another day." (NBC)
"I tried to win the stage for sure, but it was pretty complicated. Phil went early and he’s still pretty close on GC so I couldn’t let him go. Then, I think I went too early in the sprint. I thought that the corner was closer to the finish than it really was. I just gave it a try and I think we didn’t lose any time with Richie [Porte] either. The team did some great work to put us into the position not to lose any time.
"It was pretty hard. It was a really demanding day for a lot of guys. I think our guys did great, they did a lot of work. Sometimes you can lose more time then in a mountain stage so I think that it was important to do it." (Eurosport)
Philippe Gilbert (Quick-Step Floors) - Third place on the stage 5
"I think I had good position in the corners before the last climb. I was behind and said, 'Maybe if I come with some speed, I can surprise them', but they were directly on my wheel. There was a little bit of headwind, and I didn't have the legs to hold onto the finish.
"I think some people will say that we did wrong because we didn't win, but I think we did well, because I was trying and he [Alaphilippe] was staying in the wheels for the sprint. I was behind him in the last corner and I had the feeling that he was really close to the fences on the right, and he had to stop pedalling for five or six metres, and I think he lost the speed there and that is why I passed again.
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"We have no other choice and we are going to try again [Wednesday]." (NBC)
"I thought I had chance in the final kilometre today, but I didn’t have the sprint. I’ve not been training for the sprints. I’ve been training for the mountains. I’m really happy to be in the front with those guys. I thought that we would go all the way to the line, but we stopped with about 400 metres to go. I had good feelings today and I’m happy." (Eurosport)
Fabio Baldato (BMC Racing directeur sportif)
"It was maybe an opportunity for Greg, but the main priority of the day was to keep Richie in front. Of course, it’s hard to stay in front, but that’s the best place for Richie. Greg knew he had to follow the moves of the other contenders.He still has the yellow jersey and it’s good to keep it one more day.
"It’s nice to keep the yellow jersey. It’s a good feeling. Tomorrow I can see guys like Gilbert and Alaphilippe that are really close - if they go for the win tomorrow, the climb is harder. We will see, one more day in yellow is fine, and we can also lose it. The main goal is to keep Richie in front." (Eurosport)
Patxi Vila (Bora-Hansgrohe directeur sportif)
"It's Peter. He can win even blind. When Sky made the move and Gaviria was dropped, because Fernando knows how to climb, so that was our biggest fear today. We were lucky that Sky made the hot pace with 10km to go, otherwise that would be our job. After Fernando was dropped it was just to keep position, and keep an eye on Colbrelli and Valverde, especially.
"At the left turn with 300 metres to go he was third, so he was in a good spot. I think today was the best Peter I saw so far this Tour." (NBC)
