"The intention was to test" - Joxean Matxin insists Tadej Pogacar's stage 2 attack at Tour de France was not full gas

Stage 2 of the 2024 Tour de France brought with it the first showing of the general classification riders, with Tadej Pogacar launching a brutal attack on the San Luca, with only the reigning Tour de France champion, Jonas Vingegaard able to follow initially.

Whilst Pogacar was unable to gap his main rival and saw the duo of Remco Evenepoel and Richard Carapaz regain contact by the finish line, UAE Team Emirates' team boss Joxean Matxin is not concerned, insisting the Pogacar's move was far from full gas from the Slovenian. "The intention was to test all the rivals to understand the level of the different riders," explains Matxin in conversation with Cyclism'Actu.

As such, the fact that Pogacar was unable to distance Vingegaard, Evenepoel and Carapaz is no cause for concern within UAE Team Emirates. "Today was a test of only 2 kilometres to analyze Pogacar's rivals," Matxin reiterates. "The goal was not to test only Jonas, but all the riders to check how the opponents are, who are the strongest in difficult moments."

Despite not managing to gain any big gaps, Pogacar did manage to get himself into the Maillot Jaune, although on shared time with Vingegaard, Evenepoel and Carapaz. Having first claimed the Maglia Rosa at the 2024 Giro d'Italia on stage 2, then holding it for the entirety of the race, the chances of the Slovenian doing something similar at the Tour de France are more slim.