Pogacar hasn't cracked yet, but Visma and Kuss keep increasing the pressure: "I think Pogacar is definitely feeling it now"

Benoot was the first of the “satellite riders” to do his turn. At 7 kilometers from the summit, he was caught by Vingegaard. “We wanted to put Pogacar under pressure, so it was great having two guys up the road. That way, I could wait after Simon and Sepp had finished their work,” Benoot told Eurosport. “Once I was done, Victor was quickly there. We knew Jonas would need teammates in the headwind, and that was a big advantage. The plan worked.”

Despite the support and the wind-shielding, Vingegaard couldn’t land the decisive blow, Pogacar clung to his wheel like white on rice. Still, the Dane climbed with more confidence than in the Pyrenees. “Jonas looked really strong. It’s unbelievable how fast they go, and that he could still accelerate after my pull. We gave cycling fans something special to watch today,” Benoot added. After the finish, Vingegaard unfortunately crashed due to a photographer.

Team director Marc Reef was equally pleased with Visma | Lease a Bike’s performance on the Bald Mountain. “We started this stage with confidence,” the Dutch sports director told NOS. “What we said before still stands: the gap is big, and Pogacar has been stronger so far, but we want to enter this third week with confidence. We want to seize every opportunity, and that’s exactly what we did.”

Although they didn’t manage to drop the yellow jersey, the Dutch team feels ready for what’s coming. “Jonas motivated the guys really well before the climb. Tiesj and Victor were ready, and he could jump to them. We did everything we could today, and I think both Jonas and the whole team can take confidence from this performance heading into what’s next. The toughest stages are coming, it’s the third week of a Grand Tour, and you never know what can happen.”

On Hautacam earlier in the race, Pogacar had taken over two minutes from Vingegaard, but those dynamics have clearly shifted. “Up to this point, Pogacar has been stronger on the longer climbs, he’s managed to put Jonas on the ropes. Today, it was the other way around. Not that Jonas dropped him, but he raced with confidence. I think Pogacar definitely feels that. We’ll draw up a new plan for Thursday, but what we showed today gives us a lot of belief.”

Sepp Kuss, who set a high pace in the first kilometers of Mont Ventoux, spoke to ITV about “an interesting situation” for Visma | Lease a Bike. “Because we have nothing to lose. Jonas doesn’t care about losing more time or losing second place in the general classification. We don’t yet know exactly where we’ll attack, but it’s motivating that we can give everything and have no regrets when we get to Paris. We want to have fun and go for it.”

“The most important thing is that Vingegaard feels good. Then we can do interesting things,” Kuss continued. Speaking to NBC, the American added: “Vingegaard is snappy in his attacks and is not afraid to go for it. Thursday is a super-tough day, with three brutal climbs. And Friday there’s another one, then it’s mainly about recovery. Those will be two key stages.”