Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team rider Michal Kwiatkowski fought with everything he had in the final high mountain stage of the Tour de France. He finished 18th in 125km Stage 20 of the Tour de France on Saturday, as a highly select group emerged in the final kilometers. The top three riders in the GC ultimately decided the stage.
Nairo Quintana (Movistar) attacked yellow jersey wearer Chris Froome (Sky ProCycling) and Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), and neither were able to match his pace as he went on to win the stage solo. Rodriguez attacked Froome as well in the final kilometer, taking 2nd. The trio had emerged from a group that included many of the top 10 in the GC, but eventually that group also shattered. Jens Voigt (Radioshack-Leopard) had been caught by that group inside 10km to go, after he had attacked the original breakaway of the stage.
23-year-old Polish Champion Kwiatkowski will will finish 11th in the GC after being in the top 10 going into Stage 20. He also wore the white jersey for several stages, with top results including 7th in the Stage 17 ITT, 5th in the Stage 11 ITT, 4th in Stage 7, helping OPQS to a 2nd place finish in the Stage 4 TTT, 4th in Stage 3 and 3rd — his highest individual finish — in Stage 2.
"It's my first Tour de France and I'm surprised," Kwiatkowski said. "I did better than I expected. So, again, it's important that this gave me a lot of experience because I was trying all the time to stay with the best. I didn't have any bad days during the whole Tour and I am happy about my performance and my shape. I felt good today and I had a lot of support from my teammates from the beginning until the end. I want to thank them. I didn't make it, but also it is important to say Talansky had a good day today. For me, if someone had told me before I would be in 11th I wouldn't believe it. So, I am happy."
OPQS CEO Patrick Lefevere is also happy with the performance of Kwiatkowski in his first Tour de France.
"We didn't come to the Tour to contest the GC," Lefevere said. "Our goal, for Michal, was for him to learn and to see how the Tour de France was. So, the 11th place was impressive. But what is most important is he was always present in the actions. He improved a lot and learned a lot. In the future, for sure, Michal will come back again to try to do well in the GC. He showed his potential. He has been showing his potential since February, if you look at some of his results including the Classics. For sure he will come back to get a good result."
OPQS looks next to the final stage in Paris on Sunday — wrapping up a successful 100th Tour de France for the team. OPQS already has four stage wins, including two from Mark Cavendish, one from Tony Martin, and one from Matteo Trentin. Furthermore, OPQS has been awarded "best team" for many stages, and was even given a team-inclusive Combativity Award for the first time in the history of the race.
"Our main goal was to come here with Mark and win the stages," Kwiatkowski said. "I think it's better in this way because I can stay near the front and never crash, with no punctures. I was lucky, but because we were riding all the time in the front it helped. Now tomorrow we focus on helping Mark again in Paris and I will do my best to help him in any way I can. We will do our best for a fifth victory at the Tour de France."