With the Tour de France‘s ninth stage and its third mountain check to the Puy de Dôme on Sunday got here one other blow from Tadej Pogačar within the battle for the yellow jersey. The Slovenian grabbed again eight seconds from race chief Jonas Vingegaard having already taken again 28 on Cauterets earlier within the week.
Regardless of the time loss, and the narrowing of Vingegaard’s benefit to 17 seconds heading into Monday’s relaxation day, the road from his Jumbo-Visma staff after the stage was that “We’re nonetheless on observe”.
Vingegaard and the staff are nonetheless within the maillot jaune, in any case, and as all of us bear in mind – he was 39 seconds down on Pogačar after 9 days of racing final July.
“I believe we may be pleased with the day,” Sepp Kuss stated after the stage. “Eight seconds is a loss however the break was up the highway, there weren’t any time bonuses left. We simply tried to make it an excellent tempo on the climb, so it wasn’t as explosive possibly.
“He is chipping away however we’re nonetheless within the lead,” the US super-domestique added, earlier than referring again to their place eventually yr’s Tour.
“If we glance again to final yr then we have been 45 seconds down or one thing like that already at this level. Within the huge image, we’re actually pleased with the place we’re at. Jonas feels actually good, and he seems to be actually robust. We all the time knew it was going to be a extremely huge combat.”
Jumbo-Visma directeur sportif Arthur van Dongen had related traces for the group of journalists ready out the Dutch staff’s bus halfway down the Auvergne climb.
Vingegaard was the one man from the elite GC group who may reply to Pogačar’s biting acceleration at 1.5km from the highest of the steep climb. As was the case at Cauterets on stage 6, although, he could not totally maintain the tempo, letting the wheel go and ultimately crossing the road eight seconds down.
Van Dongen reminded journalists that his rider nonetheless has the higher hand within the yellow jersey battle and with it the yellow jersey itself.
“We’re nonetheless in yellow. We’re nonetheless on observe. The staff is robust and good. We all know so much can occur however there are not any worries about it,” he stated. “There are nonetheless two weeks to Paris, the time trial is arising, plenty of phases with plenty of mountains.
“We nonetheless see plenty of alternatives nevertheless it’s no shock that Pogačar is likely one of the largest favourites.”
With Pogačar within the ascendancy, the query was posed to Van Dongen whether or not the benefit now lies with the two-time Tour winner and whether or not he’s now the shape man within the mountains, having seemingly totally recovered from stage 6, which noticed Vingegaard blast off to take 1:04 over the Col de Marie Blanque.
“After I look to the final two phases uphill then for the second possibly he is a bit extra of a favorite than Jonas,” he stated. “But it surely’s not solely in regards to the final two days. It is necessary that you just’re in Paris within the yellow.
“We nonetheless have yellow and that is additionally good and actually necessary. However for certain once you achieve a while within the final two mountain finishes then it is possibly a small benefit. However Jonas may be assured with a extremely robust staff, and we’re nonetheless on observe.”
With the primary relaxation day in Clermont-Ferrand mendacity forward of three transitional phases earlier than the following mountain check – a summit end at Grand Colombier on Friday – the combat for the 2023 Tour de France stays virtually as delicately poised because it was all the way in which again on the Grand Départ within the Basque Nation.