"I was so happy when it was over" - Pogacar resets for mountains after chaotic first week

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."