“We expect Visma and Vingegaard to attack tomorrow” – UAE anticipate comeback from Pogacar’s key rival

Mauro Gianetti had reason to be satisfied after Stage 5 of the 2025 Tour de France. While Tadej Pogacar didn’t claim the stage victory, he pulled on the yellow jersey, a result that set the tone for UAE Team Emirates – XRG as we enter the mid point of the first week. Remco Evenepoel took the win on the day, but it was Pogacar who now leads overall. Meanwhile, Jonas Vingegaard endured a rough outing on the time trial course, falling behind Kevin Vauquelin and giving up nearly a minute and a half.

"It’s a very good stage for us, a very good performance. Because we expected a bit more of a gap between Tadej and Remco Evenepoel," said Gianetti to Cyclism’Actu. "But he finally set a very good time, he kept a good pace from start to finish. So it's a good day for us, we also gained a minute on Vingegaard, that's something important. With this delay, we expect Visma and Vingegaard to attack tomorrow (Thursday). So it's good, but we have to refocus on what's next right away."

Vingegaard had been on superb form in the opening stages of the Tour. He had even been able to compete in sprint finishes with Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel, two genuine classics specialists, which had surprised many fans. But, perhaps he paid the price for those efforts during the time trial, where he could not reproduce the sort of level that saw him win a TT in 2023.

Gianetti acknowledged the weight that comes with leading the Tour, but emphasised that it changes little for the team’s approach.

"Anyway, we had no choice, because if it wasn't Tadej, it was another opponent. It's true that it's a little more responsibility, but not much either. Because anyway, when you're on the Tour with Tadej Pogacar, the responsibility is already on us, we saw it in the first few days. He's the defending winner, that's how it is.

“And then it's better to be in front than to be forced to attack. A minute's lead is still very interesting at the moment. We're not necessarily going to keep the Yellow jersey until the end. The most important thing is to keep this lead over Evenepoel and Vingegaard. After that, we're not obliged to keep the Yellow jersey every day. We're a team among 22 others, we'll make our tactics, but the other 22 have other plans, so we have to expect anything."

As for Vingegaard’s disappointing performance, Gianetti didn't read too much into it.

"It's not a secret, normally Vingegaard goes much stronger than that in time trial. Today, he didn't have a very good day. It's surprising yes, but it doesn't change much, it's only one day, not the Tour. We've already seen Jonas do great things in other stages, so we have to stay focused."

Vingegaard and Visma will likely be targeting the third week to tire out and crack Pogacar, as they did in 2022 and 2023. But, as of right now, Pogacar and UAE are firmly in pole position.

And when asked about Vauquelin’s ride, he didn’t hesitate, "No, not at all, because I've been expecting him to be at this level for a long time, so I'm not surprised. We've already seen him do some very good things, even if he wasn't consistent, with ups and downs.

“Now he's more consistent, he knows himself better. What he's doing is really great. Congratulations to him. If he can be a danger to Tadej? Why not, even if he's perhaps still a bit heavy for the high mountains. But we have to be wary of everyone!"