UAE Team Emirates let a large breakaway go up the road on stage 13 of the Tour de France, but the fully committed to chasing the breakaway all day long to pursue bonifications and a stage win for Tadej Pogacar. With the Slovenian taking a few seconds in the end it can't be called a failure, but the interesting tactics have led to mixed reactions after the stage.
"It was a short stage, so we tried to control things on the flat. It wasn't easy with such a big leading group, but we guys did a great job to keep the difference small," Adam Yates said following the stage. UAE paced in the flat roads and then on the final climb, the Briton attacked with two kilometers to go trying to damage the GC group, eventually setting up Pogacar for a third place, having won eight seconds in total with time gained on the road and bonifications.
"On the climb we also rode for some bonus seconds and we succeeded. I just wanted to try and test the rest. Everyone was there, but we tried and that's the most important thing," Yates, who has climbed to fifth in the overall classification, added. After the work of every single rider on the day, questions are fairly put on whether the work was worth at the end of the day.
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“We wanted to control the race and go for the stage win," Joxean Matxin added. "We tried something with Yates, but he couldn't surprise the rest. In the end we take back eight seconds. Kwiatkowski was simply the best, but Matteo Trentin and Mikkel Bjerg did a good job on the flat by controlling. The group was a little too far away to get back at them. We don't take the stage victory, but we do take eight seconds."
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