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“Last night I posted a video because this situation does not pelase to me. Today I talked with Andy because I wanted to make things clear. We have always had good relations and I do not want them to be damaged by what happened yesterday. We have explained ourselves and I think our relationship can become as good as it was before.
“I had a very clear idea of what might happen on this stage. First of all, I wanted the team to stay together, as it was necessary to maintain the gap until the last climb and then I knew that other teams would take over. And that’s what happened.
“I think Andy can ask me about the problems of the time trial, simply because he is a great rider. Theoretically it is an advantage for me, but I know he is also able to gain time against the clock, being the [TT] champion of his country. But before we worry about the time trial there is still the stage on Thursday which is very hard, and there he may be big differences, rather than when we’re racing against the clock. 
“It’s difficult to calculate how long it may be between us two in the time trial. This will depend first on what strength we have left. And, when compared to last year, it will not mean the same route [as the time trial in Annecy] for the one near Bordeaux is much flatter. I also think Andy has made significant progress in this area since last year.”

Pierrick Fedrigo was part of an escape that included the rider who has won 24 stages of the Tour before the 2010 edition and Lance Armstrong gave the Frenchman a compliment by saying he wouldn’t work with him.

“I would have been very disappointed to finish this Tour without finding myself in a position to play to win. I was really afraid of not succeeding. The Tour passes so quickly and so far I did not answer the call I’d issued myself. Last night I even cracked a little and my nerves were a bit frayed. But perhaps that’s what I needed in order to regain confidence.
“This morning I went into the break with the objective of taking maximum points to protect the polka-dot jersey of Anthony Charteau. He had to stay very focused to make the break and stay ahead. Then I remembered a lot of stage last year, the moments where I escaped with [Franco] Pellizotti on the Tourmalet and the Aspin. In the end, Armstrong told me that he would not cooperate with me because he knew I was the fastest group…”

The Norwegian champion was game enough to try attacking the peloton on the col du Tourmalet. Even though his move didn’t stick, he at least found himself in the group of 50 who finished 6’45” behind the stage winner… and he duly led them to the line to take six points and reclaim the green jersey.

“It was a great way to end the stage. I think I’ve got the best form of my life. It was worth trying something today and see what happens. 
“I haven’t exactly been training for stages like this – and the chance of stealing points on the days when my rivals are not in the hunt – but I think I’m changing a little bit as a rider. I’m not that fast in the sprints anymore and I’m getting better at going uphill. Also, with my broken collarbone, I could not sprint so I did normal training and a lot of that work was in the mountains. And I think that’s what I’m getting back now. 
“I think the points classification is mostly down to myself and Petacchi now but, like I said at the beginning of the Tour, anything can happen so we always have to pay attention to everyone who is around.”

After the ‘Case of the Dropped Chain’, Alberto Contador issued an online statement apologizing for attacking Andy Schleck after the mechanical mishap. The rider in second overall appreciates the gesture but now he wants people to turn their attention to the race ahead, not the incident of stage 15…

"I had to be careful in the beginning of the stage so I stayed up near the yellow jersey and had a good look at what he was up to. It looked like he had a good team around him and I had Jakob Fuglsang with me the whole time and unfortately Jens crashed in the downhill so it was not a super day for the team. I heard that he is okay, so that’s some of the best news of the day.
“We had one scenario that we’d spoken about: if there was a group two or three minutes I would have attacked maybe on the col d’Aubisque and see how I went. But when we got there the escape was just too far ahead so there was no point in trying anything today because it would not have been successful. 
“I’m still motivated but it’s not like it’s revenge. I just want to win this Tour – that’s my goal – and I know there’s only one chance left and that’s the Tourmalet [on Thursday]. I think I can do it. I hope I can do it.
“I haven’t seen the footage of Alberto’s apology but he came to me today and personally apologized and I appreciate that a lot. He knows that he did a mistake yesterday; he shouldn’t have done that, he knows it and, for me, that’s enough now. This case is closed and people should stop with it and move on. Nobody deserves to be chastised endlessly.”

He had been part of an escape that formed after two tough hours of racing and Carlos Barredo eventually found himself in the move that would include the stage winner. He then attacked with 45km to go… only to be caught 1,100m from the finish line.

“At the beginning I tried to go alone and I was just thinking about the ride ahead but there was a lot of wind and it was blowing right in the face. It was difficult and then, in the last kilometers, the roads were too big and they didn’t offer any advantage for a one-man escape – that’s better done on smaller roads.
“When we were establishing the escape on the climbs early in the stage, there was quite a lot of talk and we were speaking about how we needed to attack and maintain the momentum. Lance tried for the first time and then it was my turn – and I tried many times because there were originally too many people in the group – and eventually we got a good selection. There was a chance today but, ah… well, I missed out. That’s life, hey? Many people said to Lance that Fedrigo was faster than everyone else in the group and he proved that in the end with a very good win.”