Pogacar hopes for new twist: "Hopefully, this was a day like on the Marie Blanque"

It's not that Pogacar had a bad time trial himself. The Slovenian finished second and had a 1 minute and 13 seconds lead over the third-placed Wout van Aert, who is one of the best time trialists in the world. "I couldn't do any better, I gave it my all," Pogacar tells Sporza after the race. "It may not have been my best day. But the Tour is not over yet," he remains determined.

"Yes, Jonas has gained a lot of time on me. We'll try to make up for it, but it will be very difficult," Pogacar says, fully realizing he faces a daunting task. "Hopefully, this was a day like on the Marie Blanque in the Pyrenees. The day after that, in the stage towards Cauterets, I was much better. I repeat: it's not over yet."

Nobody expected Vingegaard to create such a huge gap in the time trial - not even Pogi himself. "I didn't expect this, but these things happen. I'm doing well with my second place. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better. The gap is significant, and I had hoped for a smaller difference - or even to get the yellow jersey, but it is what it is," the second-placed rider in the general classification concludes.

Sporting manager of UAE Team Emirates Joxean Fernández Matxin spoke to Eurosport after the race. "Gaining a minute and a half is a lot, but he was simply much better. I actually have no explanation for it and can only congratulate Jumbo-Visma on this performance."

Matxin had hoped that the bike change at the foot of the Côte de Domancy could make a difference. "We tried to improve the situation through the bike swap, but it didn't make a difference." However, UAE Team Emirates is not giving up. "We will definitely not give up. Nothing is impossible."