Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) has said while losing time to main rival, Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma), during stage 5 of the Tour de France was "a blow", his form would continue to improve towards the crucial third week.
He explained he was forced to change his training after his crash at Liège-Bastogne-Liège back in April, after which he did not race for two months. Because of that, he believed when the "full throttle" phase of the Tour arrives, he will be ready as his condition will get better.
He is now 6th overall, 1:40 down on today's stage winner and new yellow jersey Jai Hindley (Bora-hansgrohe). He trails Vingegaard by 53 seconds after being dropped by the Dane, and defending champion, on the last climb today, the Col de Marie Blanque.
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Hindley won today's stage 5 after escaping in a large group of over 30 riders before dropping everyone he was with on the final climb. Vingegaard attacked behind, dropping Pogačar and closing to within 34 seconds of Hindley on the line.
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"I didn't necessarily have a very difficult day, Jonas just went really fast on the climb. I lost my legs a bit in the last kilometre, but I actually feel pretty good," Pogačar said of faltering on the last kilometre of the climb. "I hope for a better feeling in the coming days when it goes full throttle."
Pogačar continued: “I know my limits, but motivation is high. We'll take it one day at a time. I had to train differently, so I should feel better in the last week. This is a blow, but it is also only the first mountain stage. The goal of this Tour is clear, but Vingegaard was just too fast, it was a really strong attack that I couldn't do anything about. We will keep fighting, nothing is definitively lost yet."
The most surprising aspect of today's stage was how little resistance Pogačar was able to offer up when Vingegaard attacked on the climb. The Dane checked back several times to confirm he was alone after attacking from the group that included only himself, his team mate Sepp Kuss and Pogačar.
And while Pogačar is likely to become stronger through the race, having come into it undercooked as a result of his crash, he may come under attack again from Vingegaard as early as tomorrow. The Dane went for it today after sensing blood in the water and is likely to press the issue tomorrow.
The 144.9km stage 6 from Tarbes to Cauterets-Cambasque ends with a summit finish on the Cauterets-Cambasque - 16km at 5.4 per cent average gradient. That climb will be tackled after the Col d'Aspin - 12Km at 6.6 per cent - early in the stage and the Col du Tourmalet mid-stage; 17Km at 7.4 per cent.
