"He took a minute out of him in 1k!" - Geraint Thomas blown away by ferocity of Jonas Vingegaard's attack

Jonas Vingegaard launched his first aggressive move of the 2023 Tour de France on stage 5 and nobody could handle him. Speaking on their 'Watts Occurring" podcast, Geraint Thomas and Luke Rowe were blown away.

Jai Hindley was the winner of the stage and moved into the overall race lead. Despite being a former Giro d'Italia winner, Rowe doesn't see him taking the Maillot Jaune to Paris however. "We were talking on the bus and people said if Hindley gets two, three minutes he's going to win the Tour," says Rowe. "With the upmost respect, at the moment, them two guys (Vingegaard & Tadej Pogacar) are on another level."

For former Tour de France winner, Thomas, the thing that stood out was the vicious ferocity with which Vingegaard attacked when he did make his move. "Jonas when you saw him go on that final climb, he took a minute out of him in 1k! It was just boom and he was gone," says the Welshman. "It just showed the difference and I think it's ideal for Jumbo-Visma and for UAE Team Emirates that they give the jersey away."

Another mountainous day in the Pyrenees awaits the riders on stage 6 and the battle is expected to commence once again. "I don't think Jonas will gain 50 seconds. He'll want to gain time of course but I don't think he'll gain that much so BORA - hansgrohe will keep it," Thomas analyses. "Another four days, having another team control, perfect."