If yesterday the right title for Pogacar could have been on what happens to make him angry by beating him in time, now that he's really been angered, what could be said? La Visma-Lease a Bike has been in offensive mode since the first day of the Dauphiné And today he attacked at the top of the Croix de Fer, tearing down the descent with a knife between his teeth. Perhaps an overly aggressive attitude, perhaps the not-so-veiled attempt to put pressure on the world champion. And then he, in his own way, attacked and left everyone on the spot.
«I would have liked to be more defensive – explains Pogacar – but Visma attacked at the top of the Croix de Fer and also on the descent. They gave it their all, I think they were trying to do something. I don't know what, but it was crazy. The fact that they attacked me on the descent gave me a little more motivation. I preferred to leave a small margin before the corners, because we were going really fastMaybe it wasn't that fast for them, but I found myself on the limit several times, so I took precautions not to get too close. It wasn't necessary to go that way, in my opinion; it would have left room for a breakaway. But these are the races, I accept it, this is modern cyclingThey added fuel to the fire and it worked for me."
Nostalgia by Almeida and Yates
Short stage of 131,6 kilometers from Grand-Algueblanche to Valmeinier 1800, with the Madeleine after the start, then the Croix de Fer, finally the uphill finish. The action by Visma-Lease a Bike had the effect of isolating the leader in the yellow jersey, who, however, always pedaled with ample safety margins.
«I spoke with Sivakov at the end – continues Pogacar – and we said that If we had found ourselves with the same opponents on the last climb, it would have been better to anticipate, so we didn't have to worry about counterattacks. It worked, but I can't wait to have it Almeida and Yates on Tour with me, so that we don't have to experience any more adventures like this. It was an exception, but it was an attack to defend myselfI controlled all the way to the top and in the meantime I won the stage, so I'm more than happy. I managed to reach the finish line alone and no one bothered me in the last 10 kilometers".
A blow to Vingegaard and one to the media
vingegaard he got closer in the final, with the feeling that it was the Slovenian who slowed down the pace, howeverDid he do it because he was satisfied or because he too began to feel the fatigue of that long action?
«I didn't need to increase the gap – says Pogacar – I had already built up a sufficient advantage and today it was more important that the others didn't attack me. I was able to manage the effort and in the last kilometers I was able to relax.. So I was able to do the interviews more easily because I no longer had to do too much recovery on the rollers after the finish. It's all a question of efficiency, it was a good day."
The boy is careful and must have understood that the flash interviews done yesterday on the rollers in front of the race backdrop didn't go down well. And even pointing out that you slowed down is a clever move to to cool Vingegaard's enthusiasm, who this time, however, did not give up. He reached 14 seconds, giving the impression of being on the rise. There are still two more weeks left until the start of the Tour, how many things can still change? And how did the three contenders work at altitude?
Remco plays the philosopher
Remco Evenepoel should hope that the remaining weeks will give him the brilliance he needs. He certainly took care of his brilliance in the time trial, and the result confirmed it. But if at altitude he worked mainly on the bottom, this explains the weakness in changes of pace, which today made him lose the enormous 2'39”.
"It was very tough," he said after the finish, "with the start already uphill. In the end I was in front, but our legs started to give out as we got closer to the finish lineIt's a bit like yesterday. Last year I was here against weaker opponents and I had bigger gaps. Compared to then, I'm further ahead. At the moment I'm focusing on myself and taking things day by day.Now I'm going to take a nice shower and hope to recover a bit. Last year too there were… riders who did well here and finished behind me at the TourWe take everything we see with a pinch of salt."
