Pogacar shares his aggressive plans for the Alps, Evenepoel sets his sights higher, what’s Visma | Lease a Bike’s strategy?

In a flash interview with the organizers, the Slovenian tried to somewhat dodge the questions when stages 19 and 20 came up. "I think Friday could be the queen stage of the Tour, have we decided that yet? I love the Bonette and have trained a lot at Isola 2000 last month. I'm looking forward to racing there and I have a 3:11 minute lead. Let's see if it stays that way or..."

Pogacar starts to smile, not finishing his sentence. Or what? Attack? "Let's think defensively first and then see how the legs are on the final climb," he concluded. However, he later gave a candid answer about his Alpine strategy at the press conference: "We need to be physically and mentally prepared for what's coming. Maybe we can try to win the stage, but we must stay mentally strong above all. The best defense is offense. It will be man against man, it will come down to the legs, not so much the tactics."

"Let's first see how the guys have handled today's heat," we hear Merijn Zeeman say about the final weekend at Wielerflits. The sports director's strategy for the Alps will depend on his team's form and morale. "Today was the first, relatively calm day in the third week for the peloton. We'll assess how things are going and then look to Friday. There are three very tough days ahead, where we'll see how good everyone is. The top three together, but also behind them will be a big fight. Everyone wants to secure their place, it's going to be truly grueling."

Evenepoel shares a similar sentiment, speaking to the NOS. "Plan A is still to defend that third place and finish as high as possible. The Alps have different climbs than the Pyrenees, a bit less aggressive and brutal. A bit longer though and at a higher altitude, so a new kind of climbing. We are in a good position, I feel good, so we can have confidence. Whether there is more in store for me will depend on Tadej and Jonas, myself, and the men behind. It will be about sensing the situations and then coming up with plans on the spot."