The first week of the 113th Tour ended with a victory by Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin Premier Tech) in the shortened Stage 9. The Dutchman won the sprint of a four-man breakaway, and Tadej rode to the finish in 11th place, in a reduced peloton that trailed the winner by six seconds.
»We weren’t chasing a stage win; we decided to keep the breakaway at a one-minute gap. That gave us a good feeling. Then the Ineos riders came to the front and started setting the pace with the ambition of winning the stage with Filippo Ganna. The day was very hard,« Tadej said about the final test of the Tour’s opening week.
He ended it in the yellow jersey, which he already wore for one day after winning Stage 3. He pulled it on again after Stage 6 in the Pyrenees, where he celebrated an outstanding victory after attacking on the climb to the Tourmalet and riding clear to a convincing lead of 2:42 over his first chaser Jonas Vingegaard (Visma Lease a Bike). Tadej heads with that advantage into the much-anticipated first rest day of the Tour.
»So far so good; I can’t complain. The Grand Départ was incredible with the team time trial in Barcelona, and then a few tough days followed, in which the first differences were made in the overall classification. I think that’s always good, because then the first days are less chaotic,« Tadej was satisfied with the first part of the race.
Less risk and stress was also brought by the agreement among the contenders for the overall win that, in the finales of sprint stages, they ride at the back of the peloton. »There will always be the possibility of crashes, but I think we handled it pretty well. So thanks also to all the other contenders for the overall victory who respect the agreement. So far, this is one of the most pleasant Tours, apart from the heat,« Tadej continued.
Like his rivals, he and his team UAE Team Emirates also had to cope with intense heat on the Catalan and then French roads. Today’s stage in the Massif Central, which finished in 37 degrees Celsius, was also shortened by 30 kilometers by the organizers due to a red heat alert.
What mainly saves the riders is that their teams are well prepared for such conditions. »One of the biggest changes we made is the organization around nutrition, really good hydration and fueling, because this Tour is hellishly hot. Even so, my body temperature is probably lower than it was in 2022 or on any Tour before. We’re very focused on cooling, and I think that’s a big difference,« Tadej added.
Like everyone in the peloton, he is also looking forward to the first day without racing: »I hope it will be a calm day, that we’ll spin the legs easily and get a nice rest.”
From Tuesday, on Bastille Day there is a demanding mountain stage in the Massif Central on the program, he and his teammates will continue defending the yellow jersey, but will most likely also go on the attack for new stage wins. »The main goal is to defend the yellow jersey, but sometimes the best defense is an attack. We’ll see what happens in the next few days. The day after the rest day will again be very tough for our team, we’ll see,« Tadej added.