According to Jumbo Visma's team management, the Tour de France is not yet won, and they will not rule out the threat of Tadej Pogachar until after the final stage to Paris.
The Tour resumed Tuesday with a 22.4-km mountain time trial from Passy to Combrue.
Pogachar was expected to take the yellow jersey on the day, but defending champion Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo Visma) took the stage win, increasing the gap to Pogachar from 10 seconds to 1:48.
"I am not surprised at Jonas. I'm not surprised at Jonas, because I was expecting such a big result, more or less in terms of time,"
said Vinh.
Vingegaard has said repeatedly over the past week that this year's Tour de France will be decided not by the few seconds that were between him and Pogachar until Tuesday, but rather by the few minutes.
Up until the time trial, the two had been evenly matched, even though some thought Pogachar had the momentum.
"He was so motivated, it was as if he felt like he had to catch up to him, catch up to me because I was in second place," Prag said of Vingegaard's mentality.
"That made him really strong. He literally almost caught up.
The Jumbo-Visma crew scattered along the roadside just past the finish line, jubilant, but it was clear that their work was not yet done. Wednesday's 17th stage included the Col de la Rose, the highest point in this Tour. The final stage in the Vosges Mountains is also a chance for Pogachar to make a comeback, as he did in the Pyrenees.
Prag said that a stage win in Vingeegor and a healthy advantage in the overall is a "big relief," but the team is not relaxed yet.
"Pogachar is like a German in Dutch terms. 'When he [Vingegaard] gets on the bus in Paris and he [Pogachar] returns to Ljubljana, we will be happy.'
"He will fight back.
"This generation keeps fighting.
Comments