Aleksandr Vlasov looks for aggressive racing to climb up Top10

Aleksandr Vlasov is currently riding under expectations at the Tour de France, but holding his own in the Top10 after a complicated set of weeks.

The Russian attempted to join the day's breakaway after having lost some time in the previous stages. “In the beginning it was not too hard as there was a headwind in the valley, but still some riders jumped. Jumbo closed immediately when there were too many riders in front. I also tried but they didn’t let me go," he explained.

After being taken out of the Tour de Suisse with Covid-19 and crashing in the finale to Longwy, the BORA - hansgrohe leader has looked distant from his best form. After 12 stages he remains 10th in the overall classification, however a result that doesn't mean much to a rider who came with podium ambitions to the Tour.

He detailed the rest of the day: "When they raised the pace on top of Croix de Fer I stared to suffer. I just tried to ride my rhythm again, I didn’t feel good and actually suffered a lot already from the beginning of the final climb. It was also pretty hot, but I had enough ice and water so that wasn’t too much of a problem.”

Vlasov finished 18th on the day, however he should have freedom to join breakaways in the final week of the race, although the starts of the high-mountain stages will be flat, BORA - hansgrohe can still have a saying in the battle for GC.