Tadej Pogacar never tires of winning the yellow jersey at the Tour de France: 'I don’t know how long it will last'

And that makes it 2 from 3 at the Tour de France. Jonas Vingegaard and Visma | Lease a Bike seized the momentum on the first day of the Tour de France, but after three days, it’s clearly in the hands of Tadej Pogacar and UAE Emirates-XRG. The Slovenian dominated the stage at Les Angles to claim the stage victory and take the yellow jersey from his Danish rival.

Everyone assumed beforehand that the third stage would be a race for the breakaway riders. A stage with 3,850 meters of climbing, but nothing really tough? In the French heat? Knowing that wearing the yellow jersey comes with extra responsibilities? Not a chance, thought UAE Emirates-XRG: after Sunday, they wanted to win again, this time with Pogacar.

The moment a strong breakaway group of nineteen riders gained a two- to three-minute lead and was given a free pass by Visma | Lease a Bike, the UAE Team Emirates took over. Florian Vermeersch single-handedly took a big chunk out of the lead, and with that, it was immediately clear to all the other riders: Pogacar is hungry, and now it’s time to eat.

After the gesture to Isaac del Toro in Barcelona, it was time on French soil for a return favor. The Mexican launched his team leader with gusto, and a single sharp burst of speed was enough for him to break away from Vingegaard and company. In the sprint of just under 200 meters, Pogacar pulled away by two seconds and claimed the yellow jersey.

"It's all because of him," Pogacar says, referring to Del Toro. "Because of what he did today, I think I got that little bit of extra strength in the final stretch. On the final climb, I gave more than 100%. Halfway through the stage, we decided as a team that a stage win was within reach, and yeah... I’m really, really happy that we started the Tour this way. It was an incredible finish.”

In response to interviewer Seb Piquet’s remark that he’s “hungry,” Pogacar quips. “Well, I’m not really that hungry—I take a gel every 30 minutes, so it’s not that bad! But seriously: when we can win like we did today and the team is feeling great, you just have to seize that opportunity. We gave it our all and won.”

And there’s the maillot jaune again. “Winning the yellow jersey is every cyclist’s dream, no matter how old you are.” I can’t quite remember how many times this has happened to me, but every time I get to drape it over my shoulders again, it feels very special. I don’t know how long it will last—we’ll see—but we’re going to try to enjoy every moment.”