Pogacar "is certainly not unbeatable" argues Johan Bruyneel, who sees a tight battle over the Alps and Pyrenees

Johan Bruyneel, one of Belgium's leading figure when it comes to analyzing pro cycling, is having a close eye on the Tour de France and has talked about how he believes it will be a hard task for Tadej Pogacar to have his third consecutive title.

In a column at Wielerflits, the former Belgian pro has said: "With two stage wins and the yellow jersey on his shoulders, Tadej Pogacar remains the big favorite to win the Tour de France again. However, he is certainly not unbeatable... A day later to La Planche des Belles Filles, however, he had a much harder time... That is not yet the case in this Tour," he argued. 

So far Tadej Pogacar has taken time on Jonas Vingegaard in the initial prologue and in Arenberg, whilst making up further bonus seconds with wins in Longwy and Planche des Belles Filles, aswell as a podium in Lausanne. "Jonas Vingegaard is going to be a formidable opponent," he added. Everyone else is already over a minute away from the Slovenian, whilst Vingegaard sits 39 seconds down.

"They still have to deal with two blocks that are still very strong in width: Jumbo-Visma and INEOS-Grenadiers. In addition, they lost an important pawn due to corona with Vegard Stake Laengen. When you have to defend the yellow jersey, you need not only climbers in the mountain stages, but also riders who cross a mountain and then set the pace in the valley," he pointed out.

Whilst INEOS lost Daniel Martínez as a card for the GC, it keeps three riders in contention, whilst Jumbo-Visma keep two and both have very strong collectives. "However, Vingegaard in particular will have motivation after his action at La Planche des Belles Filles and will take courage from this for the Alps and Pyrenees. In any case, it will be a very different Tour than last year."

Into the second rest day of the race, Tadej Pogacar has shown no signs of weakness, even despite an UAE Team Emirates that lacked support over the opening days, and the very harsh amount of work they committed to in the last few days. The battle will be tight over the coming weeks, and tomorrow will restart the racing in the Alps.