Tadej Pogacar thrives in Tour de France cobbles: "Today I feared all the things that didn’t happen to me"

Tadej Pogacar feared the danger and the unknown that came along with the treacherous cobbled sectors and urban furniture that threw today's Tour de France stage into chaos, however he emerged as the big winner in the fight for the overall classification.

"Today I feared all the things that didn’t happen to me in the end. The team supported me well in the first part of the stage, before the cobbled sectors," he said after the finish. The Slovenian didn't enjoy the same support after cobbled sectors began, often fighting for positioning himself and having no teammates for the latter part of the stage.

That didn't become an obstacle for the defending champion though, who avoided the crashes which have taken out several of his rivals - including Primoz Roglic - and took advantage of the work of rival teams BORA - hansgrohe and Arkéa Samsic. Towards the final 20 kilometers Pogacar attacked himself with Jasper Stuyven, and the duo gained 13 seconds on the main peloton - a small gap but every second matters.

"Then I just tried to give my best by following Stuvyen and pushing on. It was a day in which we aimed to stay safe and defend ourselves, I also managed to get something out of it so I can only be positive about it," he concluded.

Most importantly, Pogacar gained 2:09 minutes on Primoz Roglic. This has thrown the Jumbo-Visma rider off the fight for the final win considerably, however not out of the picture.