The mountainous stage at Pyrenean left the GC in a bit of a fuss, however, the three top holders stood firm in their places. Despite the shaking grounds, they managed to survive, but will that be enough? Geraint Thomas hopes so.
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The day was not in favor of Tadej Pogačar, whose multiple attacks produced no fruitful effects for him. On the other hand, Jonas Vingegaard had a better day compared to his rival. While Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) had a moment of panic when he lost contact briefly on the slopes of Péguère, however, his teammates helped him, and he still maintains his third position, following Vingegaard at 2:43.
Nairo Quintana (Arkéa–Samsic) now claims fourth position as Romain Bardet (DSM) falls to 9th position. This provides Thomas with an edge of 2:02 over Quintana.
As Thomas talked to the reporters after the race, he came off quite content with his performance and spoke highly of his teammates:
It’s good that the team are strong now, Dani’s feeling a lot better after his sickness and Castro is on his way back up as well. Obviously Yates and Tom as well, big shout out to Yates actually because he really committed to me there
Thomas has to face Two summit finishes before facing the final time trial scheduled in Paris. He acknowledges that now it is only going to get tougher day by day. The soaring temperature and the mountainous regions show no mercy whatsoever:
A lot can still happen, especially in this heat. If it affects you one day you can get through, but you can pay for the knock-on, so we’ll see how that goes.
He restated that it may be fun watching Pogačar attack on the TV, but it is no fun when you’re facing him:
I think he’ll definitely need a bit more time come the TT, because Vingegaard, he can do everything. It’s a tough one, but they’re both riding super strong, so it’s interesting to watch at home, but not so much when you’re trying to hang onto them
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Featured Image Via YouTube/ FloBikes
