Tadej Pogacar has made it through the first rest day of the
2025 Tour de France in striking distance of the yellow jersey, and with his
sights firmly set on the upcoming mountain stages. Speaking to his team UAE Team
Emirates – XRG, the defending champion reflected on a stressful
opening block and looked ahead to what he sees as a pivotal second week.
“I was so happy when it was over, because the first nine
days were incredibly hectic. We expected that, but I’m happy that we got
through it unscathed – apart from João Almeida of course.”
Almeida’s early crash and eventual withdrawal from the race
cast a shadow over an otherwise successful start for the UAE team. Pogacar has
two stage wins to his name, and managed to create a gap of over a minute to
Jonas Vingegaard during the time trial. But, his Danish rival has been able to
match him on all other stages.
That will be a concern for the world champion as we enter
the true mountains, where the longer climbs have in the past suited Vingegaard
more. Especially concerning, is the fact that Pogacar will not have the support
of Almeida when the road goes uphill.
"After his crash, he really showed his enormous
fighting spirit by even completing two more stages. I can't imagine continuing
with a broken rib and other injuries," Pogačar said. "It's incredibly
sad that he had to leave the race. There was a really good, great atmosphere,
and João was also really looking forward to the upcoming Tour weeks, defending
the yellow jersey."
Ben Healy now holds the race lead, but Pogačar made clear
that the balance of power could soon shift again.
"Now we're getting into our terrain and there will be
less stress," he said, referring to the three Pyrenees stages on Thursday,
Friday, and Saturday. "We can look back on a very good week, although
João's withdrawal is obviously a huge disappointment. But otherwise, we're in a
good position in the general classification and we're ready for the
mountains."
"We're still in a good position. It remains to be seen
how much longer Ben can hold on to the jersey."
"He's already ridden many kilometers in the attack, and
I hope he's starting to feel the fatigue. Then we can potentially take over the
jersey in one of the coming days. Maybe not tomorrow but after that, there are
three great climbing stages."
With the Pyrenees ahead and a summit time trial to come,
Pogacar expects the next few days to be decisive.
"I expect this week to be quite decisive in the battle
for the general classification," said Pogacar. "Normally, you'd hope
to save some energy in week two, with several transition stages and maybe one
mountain stage, but this year, the second week is almost as tough as the final
week. I expect big differences in the general classification. It's an
interesting week anyway. I'm looking forward to the stage to Hautacam and
especially the uphill time trial."
Still, he acknowledges that this year’s Tour is harder than
ever to control. "The level in this Tour is so high. All teams are capable
of riding at the front. Yesterday's stage was the first really tough day, and
it proved difficult to control everything."
"But, we're doing very well as a team so far, despite
João's retirement and the fact that Pavel (Sivakov) isn't fully fit at the
moment. Yesterday, we already saw a bit of the uphill value, but we'll only
truly learn in the upcoming mountain stages. I expect a big fight for the
podium and the yellow jersey."
Fin MajorCycling Journalist
Fin Major is a UK-based writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2024. He is the site’s main writer for FAQs and evergreen explainers and has written around 2,000 pieces for the platform. Alongside this work, he focuses on in-depth analysis and covers the biggest races on the calendar, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, providing clear context around performance trends, tactics, and key storylines.
In his reporting, Fin uses reputable data sources such as ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. Outside of writing, Fin is an active cyclist, which supports his practical understanding of the sport and its demands.
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- great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
- they can sign any 100 of top riders today but Pogi will win over Remco any time at the TDF unless something goes wrongabstractengineer10-11-2026
- the time for a GC rider to retire is when they cannot win stages, or have a significant level drop like from winner/podium into top 5/10 consistently. Roglic is still competitive and Froome raced even though he became pack fodder.abstractengineer10-11-2026
- He should be in a different team. It was detrimental. For them it does not matter if he does not develop. He should have gone to a team where they need him to succeed.abstractengineer10-11-2026
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