<\/p>\n
That support helped produce one of Storer\u2019s most notable
\nperformances of the race, a third-place finish on stage six. Ironically, he
\nhadn\u2019t planned to be in the breakaway that day. \u201cWe had some funny analogies
\nlike, \u2018Michael\u2019s still in the fridge staying fresh,\u2019 I was supposed to stay
\nquiet until stage 10. But then I saw how the race was developing. It took over
\ntwo hours for a breakaway to form, and no one from our team was in it. So I
\nfollowed Simon Yates, and that ended up being the move.\u201d<\/p>\n
The call to jump wasn\u2019t pre-approved, but it paid off.
\n\u201cThose days where you\u2019ve done two hours of racing and then you’re the guy who
\nfollows just one move into the break, you feel pretty badass.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tudor\u2019s strategy, however, wasn\u2019t without friction. \u201cThere
\nwere arguments before the race, after the race, and on the radio about
\ntactics,\u201d he said. \u201cIn the end, I have to do what they say.\u201d<\/p>\n
He agreed with fans who thought he\u2019d chased too many
\nbreakaways. \u201cTotally agree. But that wasn\u2019t my decision, that was the team\u2019s
\ndecision.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite missing out on a win, Tudor was seen as one of the
\nTour\u2019s most visible teams. \u201cYeah, definitely a success. We’re joking that we
\ndidn\u2019t win a stage, but we won the hearts of the fans. We won at social media,\u201d
\nStorer said. \u201cJulian especially. After he finished third, L’\u00c9quipe ran a huge
\nfront-page photo of him. I don\u2019t think they actually know who won that stage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Storer spent much of the race in breakaways, including
\nseveral with Quinn Simmons. \u201cI’d say it\u2019s all respect. I talked to him a lot
\nduring the Tour. If I was going into a breakaway, he\u2019d be one of the people I\u2019d
\nbe hoping is in there too. That guy pushes some big numbers. If you need to
\nstop the peloton, he\u2019s the one. But if you need to beat the guy, that\u2019s a
\nproblem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Modern breakaways, Storer said, are nothing like what they
\nused to be. \u201cThe 10-minute breakaways are finished. It\u2019s all about forcing the
\nbreakaway now. The peloton doesn\u2019t let you go, they have to be broken. That
\nmakes the racing extremely hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
He pointed to dangerous road conditions and poor preparation
\noutside of the Tour as part of the problem. \u201cThat\u2019s why we crash going in a
\nstraight line, like we did in Naples at the Giro. The road was filthy. I knew
\nwe were all going to crash that day.\u201d<\/p>\n