"It’s a shame to lose time" - Jonas Vingegaard disappointed to lose time but not pessimistic on chances to win Tour de France

Jonas Vingegaard set himself up to fight for the Tour de France win after he resisted the attack of Tadej Pogacar on the second stage. However in the high mountains, where the Dane usually thrives, he was not able to match his closest rival and has shed significant time today.

“It’s a shame to lose time. But honestly, when we started the Tour, we expected to lose time in almost all of the first four stages," Vingegaard said in words to Wielerflits. "The fact that this only happened in one of these stages is something we can be quite happy about. It’s also true that I lost most of the race in the second part of the descent. In that part, weight was more important. I think we can be happy with how it went in the first four days. We expected to be 3-0 down already, so it feels like a small victory.”

Visma did not work at the head of the peloton today, but was vulnerable when UAE Team Emirates really pushed the pace up the final kilometers of the Col du Galibier. Matteo Jorgenson was in the GC group until a few kilometers to the summit but was not able to match UAE's two main domestiques for Tadej Pogacar. UAE did not attack with their depth, however Tadej Pogacar had the legs to drop the Dane.

The gap at the summit of the climb was only of a few seconds, but Pogacar really made the difference then on the descent. “It went quite well. Until we turned left, I kept the gap at about ten seconds. But after that he had a bit more advantage of gravity. That worked out well for him and he gained some time. I have to accept that.”

At the end of the day, taking time on the road and bonifications, Vingegaard lost 50 seconds on Pogacar. Not a deadly loss, but a meaningful one which now puts Vingegaard on the back foot. “Of course it always helps to have someone with you. Maybe I would have put him in front, you never know. But this is how it was today. I know what Matteo and Wilco can do, so I am sure they will be there later in the race," he concluded.