"Winning there in yellow would of course be iconic" - Tadej Pogacar eyes maiden Mont Ventoux victory

Tadej Pogacar has only raced up Mont Ventoux once, back in 2021 where the Tour de France rode up it but not in a summit finish. At the time, it was a day where Visma thrived and the Slovenian was put into difficulty. But today, he begins it with the ambition of winning in the yellow jersey.

"I had a good rest day. A real 10 out of 10. Urska came to our hotel yesterday and joined us on our bike ride," Pogacar shared in a pre-race interview this morning. Joined by his fiancée, he has gained some motivation and energy towards the final week of the race.

"She was also at the coffee stop, where she obviously drank a bit more than we did. After that, I spent the afternoon with the people closest to me. Wonderful, it was a very nice rest day for me," the yellow jersey admits. He also managed to ride a newly-designed bike. "It's great that Colnago has brought this new bike. It's an aerodynamic bike with a light weight. This is what I've been asking for for a long time."

Stage 16 of the Tour will see the peloton start in Montpellier and have a very flat and fast run-in to the Géant de Provence, one of the most iconic climbs of the Tour de France and the spot in general. Naturally, it would be a location where Pogacar would like to add his name.

"Everyone wants to win that stage of the Tour. Today's Mont Ventoux, a legendary climb. Winning there in yellow would of course be iconic, but we know why we're here, and that's to bring the yellow jersey to Paris," he says.

However it's fully plausible to connect the two and battle for ultimate glory in this edition of the Grand Boucle. On paper, he begins the day as the man to beat, and carries simultaneously four minutes over Jonas Vingegaard into the first day of the final week.