Tadej went through the first half of the third week of the Tour without major problems, on stage 17 he also gained two seconds ahead of Jonas Vingegaard with an attack on the last climb. The Dane now trails Tadej by 3:11. Victor Campenaerts won stage 18 from a breakaway, while Tadej and his teammates from UAE Team Emirates controlled the main peloton and saved energy for the very demanding final stages of the 111th Tour de France.
“It was impossible to completely relax on this route. It was up and down all the time, the day was quite demanding, but we had everything under control, so I’m satisfied,” said Tadej.
In the remaining three stages he wants to confirm his third overall victory in the Tour. First up stage 19 with the Vars and Bonette passes, followed by the final ascent to the Isola 2000 ski resort. On stage 20 the caravan will then face four climbs in the hinterland of Nice, which Tadej also knows well, as he trains on them throughout the year. The race will end on Sunday with a time trial from Monaco to Nice.
“It’s hard to decide which one is the Queen stage, maybe it will be tomorrow. I like the Bonette climb. I also trained a lot at Isola 2000 in the last month before the Tour. I’m really looking forward to racing on these climbs,” Tadej is confident before the next challenge that will take him to the highest point of the Tour, the 2,802-meter-high Bonette.
The question is: will he just defend the yellow jersey, which he wore for the 37th day in his career, or will he chase his fourth stage victory this year. “I have a 3:11 lead, let it stay that way. First we will think about defending the jersey, and then we will see how the legs turn on the final climb,” Tadej hinted that he and his teammates will prepare another big show for the Slovenian fans, who came to France in large numbers this week.