Jonas Vingegaard on Pogacar's aggressive stance: "I know he’ll attack me again, and anywhere, maybe even during the rest day"

Jonas Vingegaard and Jumbo-Visma were put under pressure today early on as Tadej Pogacar tried to surprise in the first climb of the day, however the Dane managed to save the day as he stuck to the Slovenian's wheel once again to keep the 2:22 minute gap at the Tour de France.

“I expected Tadej [Pogacar] to attack but I managed to follow him and I was happy that I could. Maybe I was too far behind when he attacked in the first climb so it took a bit of time to come across but I wouldn’t say that he surprised me and it didn’t cost me any extra energy to follow him," Vingegaard said of the early attack. With Jumbo-Visma unorganized, there were moments where the yellow jersey was under pressure, however he himself took responsibility of chasing his rival.

With Wout van Aert and Steven Kruijswijk eventually the team managed to control and cool down the offensive, with the final climb of the day then being the target of focus. Jumbo pushed the pace in the final hour, and Vingegaard managed to follow the attacks of Pogacar in the stinging gradients of the Côte de la Croix Neuve - arriving together at the finish line once again.

"I know he’ll attack me again, and anywhere, maybe even during the rest day. My job is to remain focus and not let me being caught by surprise. It was a great climb to finish with and I had another great day in the yellow jersey," Vingegaard concluded. With another dangerous day covered, he now has the final day of the second week to resist where the high temperatures and strong wind will make for a very complicated day.