Behind Pogačar, Seixas, Ayuso, and Evenepoel are all eyeing Vingegaard’s spot: ‘The race is wide open’

Tadej Pogacar sits like a king on his yellow throne, while Jonas Vingegaard hopes to knock him squarely off it. Below them, the battle for the podium is fierce. A handful of contenders are eyeing a spot among the top three, ideally the one with number 2 written on it. How are the general classification contenders faring after the first rest day?

Paul Seixas is the youngest and newest contender for a podium finish. The Frenchman is making his debut in the Tour de France, and after a week, he’s looking strong—as team director Mark Renshaw also notes. “Looking at the first nine days of racing, we’re pretty happy with how things are going,” the Australian tells Daniel Benson. “In my opinion, Paul is among the top three or four in the race. I think he’ll move up at some point.”

The former sprinter sees just how well Seixas is doing. “This is the first time I’ve raced with Paul. I spoke with him for about five minutes at a training camp before this, so I already understand all the hype surrounding the race—you can’t deny the facts and figures. He’s nineteen, in the top six, and we’re nearing the halfway point of the Tour. He’s surrounded by plenty of experienced riders, and he hasn’t made a single misstep yet.”

The youngster has a lot of swagger, but he knows when to take advantage of his team. That could take him far, says Renshaw. “He’s very confident and knows what he’s capable of. His teammates have a lot of faith in him. Above all, he can’t afford to have any bad luck—he needs to stay healthy. Then his legs will do the talking. He listens to all the experience around him, from the riders to the team directors.”

At Lidl-Trek, they’re counting on Juan Ayuso and Mattias Skjelmose for the general classification. Having two team leaders can be an advantage, says team director Steven de Jongh. “The battle for second and third place is still wide open. The time trial will be very important, and from there we’ll get a better sense of where everyone stands. The stages leading up to it will be an exciting battle.”

Isaac Del Toro is currently in third place. He could play a crucial role in the battle for the podium. “We’ll have to see how they use him and how much work he has to do. Right now, he’s looking good. But there might come a point where he falls off the podium because of his support role. If he ever falters, we’ll see what happens.” For now, things look comfortable for them. The third week will be decisive; we’ve only had one stage for the general classification so far.”

No one mentions last year’s friction between Ayuso and Skjelmose anymore. That’s all in the past. “From the start, when Juan joined the team, they talked a lot together. In the Dauphiné, they worked together very well—that was a good sign for the Tour. It really just comes down to talking things through and making sure they’re on the same page. You don’t want a fight within your own team.”

They know all about that at Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe. Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz had a bit of a spat after the sixth stage, but it’s water under the bridge. “We’re right where we wanted to be,” says team director Patxi Vila. “Our goal was to compete with these two riders, and we have Remco and Lipo exactly where we wanted them. It’s a luxury to have two leaders, and so far, it’s working.”

The yellow jersey seems out of reach. “You have to accept things as they are, and right now there’s not much more we can do than focus on our own capabilities. We’re focusing on our own race, but if a tactical situation arises at some point that we can take advantage of to jump to first place on the podium, we’ll definitely seize it.”

Vila doesn't want to look too far ahead and remains realistic about his team leaders' chances. "For now, we're taking it one step at a time, and right now we're fighting for third place. Second place isn't far off, and third place certainly isn't."