Everyone was waiting for him at the turn, but Tadej Pogacar did not attack on this 1st stage of the Tour de France. All eyes were of course on the Slovenian on this difficult opening day marked by the heat and a very steep course, with almost 3600m of elevation gain. But despite the pace imposed by his team UAE Team Emirates in the last difficulties of the day, the winner of Giro did not try to put his rivals in difficulty, especially testing Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike). A damp squib for the general classification which benefited Romain Bardet (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) to glean victory and the Yellow jersey, a few seconds ahead of a reduced peloton and regulated by Wout van Aert in front… Pogacarwho got involved in the fight for bonuses.This first day was very good“, reacted “Pogi” after the finish, satisfied with this start.
Tadej Pogacar satisfied and 4th in this 1st stage of the Tour
“Tomorrow? There will surely be more battle, I think we will see more gaps”
Although this stage will most certainly leave its mark on people’s bodies, the work that was announced ultimately did not really take place, with around fifty riders finishing in the pack of favourites.We tested the legs a bit on the climbs, it was a good pace, and I felt good, even with the heat. And at the end, I also tried to sprint, I saw an opening. I almost beat two of the fastest riders on this race, Wout (van Aert) and Mads Pedersen. I wasn’t too lucky in this finale, but hats off to the two winners of the day, Bardet and van den Broek, they totally deserved their victory“, highlighted Pogacarwhich therefore did not mark its territory as many thought.
“With 4 km to go, they had about a 25 second lead I think, I thought we would catch them. That’s why I tried the sprint, if I made the podium I could get some bonuses. I love sprints in small groups like that. In the end, it was an interesting day“, he summarized before looking ahead to the 2nd stage, presenting less relief but certainly tougher in the finale. “Tomorrow (Sunday) there is San Luca. It will be more open, there will surely be more battle on the climb, and I think we will see more gaps than today“, warned the native of Komenda in conclusion.
