Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe did not allow UAE in the breakaway and reveal they weren’t targeting the stage win with Roglic

From the start of the seventh stage, it was clear that UAE and Red Bull were watching each other closely. Jay Vine tried to attack several times, and Rafal Majka moved up several times, to which Roglic's team reacted as if stung by a wasp. Once Vine dropped back from the leading group, the day's breakaway was given the green light.

"The plan this morning was pretty clear," Vine wrote afterward. "I had to try to get in the break, and have a crack at the stage. But as we rolled out, it became obvious the peloton wasn’t going to let that happen. Some teams weren’t keen on seeing our jersey up the road today, and that’s just how it goes sometimes."

"Once that door closed, the focus shifted," Vine said. "Really proud of how the group came together today. Huge congratulations to Juan Ayuso or sealing the win from the group — and Isaac del Toro for coming across second; what a ride by them."

On behalf of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, domestique Nico Denz keeps a diary via BleuSky to reveal the team's tactics for Friday's stage. The German rode most of the stage at the front with Gianni Moscon. "My legs were on point, and we decided to control the race from the start so that we wouldn't have to chase a strong breakaway group with GC contenders."

Daniel Felipe Martinez took care of that part as a climber, after which it was up to Denz and Moscon on the flatter sections. "That worked very well. We wanted to let the breakaway's lead gradually grow and not necessarily ride for the stage win," said the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe rider. However, Lidl-Trek had other ideas and closed the gap mostly, setting up a battle between the GC contenders on the final climb.

Roglic now stands ahead of Ayuso and Isaac del Toro in the GC, while UAE Emirates-XRG still has two contenders, Adam Yates and Brandon McNulty. After losing Jai Hindley, Red Bull can only respond with Roglic and Giulio Pellizzari.