Tadej Pogacar, who tried to leave the yellow jersey to Remco Evenepoel: “I was not surprised by his return, he is a top runner”

The Slovenian’s deceleration was obviously not as effective as the attack he had launched a few minutes earlier on the final slopes of the San Luca climb which dominates Bologna and to which only Vingegaard had been able to respond as if already launching a remake of a highly anticipated duel.

“It was a good time to test my legs but also those of my opponents, commented the man who had not worn the yellow jersey since the 10th stage of the 2022 Tour. We knew that the stage victory was going to be complicated to achieve given the breakaway and our wish was not to put the whole team on the board for this… It’s positive to see that I managed to crack some of the guys who are aiming for the general classification. A little at least (laughs)… Remco’s return? It didn’t surprise me, he’s a top rider. I’m happy to be back in this yellow jersey, which I was very close to during part of the Tour without managing to get hold of last year.”

A final sentence that did not really exude sincerity in view of the discussion captured between the Slovenian and the Brabançon near the podium. Mauro Gianetti, the boss of the UAE team, wanted to be more direct.I didn’t quite understand where Remco had gone off but he came back to the Tadej-Vingegaard duo in a strong way. That shows his desire to fight for the general. It would be good if he took the jersey on Monday evening for his first Tour. A way of relieving us of responsibilities for the Galibier stage on Tuesday? In the mountains, the differences are made much more often with the legs than thanks to tactics…”

Tour de France: Remco Evenepoel in yellow this Monday? It’s possible but risks will have to be taken