Pogačar not a fan of stage 13, but was a fan of Tom Pidcock's breakaway heroics: 'Have to be able to adapt very quickly'

Another day in the bag. Tadej Pogacar navigated the thirteenth stage well in his yellow jersey and can therefore head into the grueling third weekend of the Tour de France with confidence. On Saturday, the race finishes at Le Markstein, where Pogacar already won a stage in 2023 after being outpaced by Vingegaard’s Visma team a few days earlier.

In Stage 13, from Dole to Belfort, a breakaway group of no fewer than 57 riders pulled away. Among them were Brandon McNulty and Tim Wellens from Pogacar’s team, who thus made a strong case for the team classification, which is important to them.

Before the stage, Pogacar had already made it clear that he wasn’t a fan of the route for Stage 13, citing: “too long on the flat before the climb and too long overall.” After the 205-kilometer stage, he reiterated that sentiment. “It was a really tough day. The pace was incredibly fast and… well, I’m just glad it’s over,” he said.

Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5), who is now in fourth place, was also part of the leading group. “In a situation like that, you have to be able to adapt very quickly and make decisions. But I think we handled it very well as a team today with the riders we had.”

"Our communication with each other was good, and we were in control. Of course, we knew going in that it would be a tough day for us, but in the end, it turned out a lot better than I had expected," said Pogacar, who did not see Pogacar's presence as a disadvantage. Quite the contrary, in fact.

"No, I actually think it worked in our favor that Tom was up front. That forced the other teams in the final to work hard to close the gap, which allowed us to sit back and wait and see how things played out in the last 30 kilometers and ride in their slipstream," he explained.

That left flash interviewer Seb Piquet to ask what Pogacar has in mind for Saturday’s grueling Vosges stage. “Le Markstein is a beautiful place. I’m really looking forward to riding up there again tomorrow and enjoying all the spectators,” Pogacar simply brushed off the question for now. We’ll know more on Saturday!