#TDF2023 @TamauPogi finishes 8th on stage 5 after a tough fight in the Pyrenees. He's now fifth overall, +1:40 back on new leader Hindley. #UAETeamEmirates #WeAreUAE
Tadej Pogacar on Tour de France's entrance in the mountains: "This is a blow, but it is also only the first mountain stage"
CyclingThursday, 06 July 2023 at 09:14
Tadej Pogacar debunked the possibility of not having good form in the opening weekend of the Tour de France, however he suffered a big hit today as Jonas Vingegaard rode away from the rest of the field and left him hanging on the road.
"It was hectic in the opening phase, because everyone wanted to participate. We couldn't close the gap to this group, so they got away. Not good, but in the end we worked hard as a team and hoped for better legs on the final climb," Pogacar said in a flash interview. UAE were put under pressure because of the presence of Jai Hindley in the breakaway, a legitimate candidate for yellow, in addition to a large and incredibly strong which also includes Giulio Ciccone who could 'steal' the yellow jersey if that was the team's initial concern.
Resources were saved for the final climb however, the team early on began to push the pace in the Col de Marie Blanque. However Jumbo-Visma then took over with Sepp Kuss, setting up an attack of Jonas Vingegaard. Rarely does anyone see the Slovenian being dropped so dramatically, but the reigning champion put on a terrifyingly strong performance this afternoon.
"I didn't necessarily have a very difficult day, Jonas just went really fast on the climb. I lost my legs a bit in the last kilometer, but I actually feel pretty good," he says. Pogacar lost around 30 seconds in the final kilometer of the climb and then more in the descent, eventually he waited for the chasing group behind, reaching the finish 1:04 minutes after Vingegaard. "I hope for a better feeling in the coming days when it goes full throttle."
Because of the time he won earlier in the race, the gap between the two is now in favour of his rival, with 53 seconds. “I know my limits, but motivation is high. We'll take it one day at a time. I had to train differently, so I should feel better in the last week. This is a blow, but it is also only the first mountain stage."
"The goal of this Tour is clear, but Vingegaard was just too fast, it was a really strong attack that I couldn't do anything about. We will keep fighting, nothing is definitively lost yet. It's harder to hear that my fiancé (Urška Zigart , ed.) fell in the Giro today and maybe suffered a concussion than that I lose a minute on Jonas."
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