Tadej Pogačar has spent most of his cycling life way out in front, but the Tour de France has often been the exception that proves the rule. On some level, the Slovenian must be surprised to examine the overall standings 18 stages into this year's race and find himself some 3:11 clear of Jonas Vingegaard.
Pogačar's dominance across the calendar, from Abu Dhabi to the Oude Kwaremont, has become routine, but it hasn't always translated to the month of July. In four previous Tour appearances, he has carried a lead into the final week just once, in 2021, when he had effectively already ended the race as a contest by stage 8.
On his debut in 2020, Pogačar had to channel Alex Ferguson's Manchester United to snatch the yellow jersey from his compatriot Primož Roglič at La Planche des Belle Filles, when the Tour de France was already down to its embers. For the past two Julys, meanwhile, Pogačar has spent the final week engaged in a vain attempt to overhaul Vingegaard, falling short on each occasion.
In this, the fourth chapter of the ongoing Pogačar-Vingegaard rivalry, the margins have widened considerably in the Slovenian's favour. The turning point came last weekend in the Pyrenees, where Pogačar won consecutive stages and heaped an extra two minutes onto his buffer over Vingegaard.
"I don't know, I don't think about whether I'm surprised or not," Pogačar told reporters in Barcelonnette on Thursday evening. "I'm just happy it's that kind of margin. I would be happier with a bigger one, because the next two days are hard, and you never know what happens. I just say it's always good to be in the lead with the yellow jersey, and the time between us is just a bonus."
A year ago, Vingegaard seemed to lean on his remarkable powers of endurance to beat Pogačar, with the narrow gap between them suddenly developing into a chasm after the second rest day. It remains to be seen if Vingegaard's ability to outlast the rest remains intact this year after his preparation was interrupted by his severe crash at Itzulia Basque Country, but Pogačar will surely be glad to have an insurance policy of more than three minutes all the same.
Vingegaard, so impressive at Le Lioran, was unable to match Pogačar's supersonic pace at Pla d'Adet and Plateau de Beille, and he also conceded ground at Superdévoluy on Wednesday. Visma-Lease a Bike have surely dreamt up plans to discommode Pogačar over the Col de la Bonette on stage 19, but it's rather less clear if they still have the energy to match their ingenuity.
"It's been quite tiring, the second week of the Tour especially, so for sure there are some tried legs, tired minds," Pogačar said. "But I still need to be prepared mentally and physically for everything that's thrown at us. Maybe we can even try to win the stage tomorrow or Saturday We need to stay strong mentally and be ready for everything. The best defence is attack."
In keeping with the grand tradition of Tour rivalries, there seems to be a certain distance between Pogačar and Vingegaard off the bike, but a far greater degree of warmth has been detected between the yellow jersey and Remco Evenepoel, the man currently lying third overall.
Evenepoel's hefty deficit of 5:09 undoubtedly smooths their relationship, of course, and Pogačar downplayed the idea that the Belgian might become an ally against Vingegaard in the forthcoming finales at Isola 2000 and the Col de la Couillole.
"I don't really see us being allies, because I think tomorrow more or less will be one against another," Pogačar said. "It's pretty clear that the stages ahead of us are about legs and pushing, and not too many tactics. It's just mano a mano tomorrow and the day after – and the day after."
Grey areas
In his previous two post-stage press conferences, Pogačar had offered conflicting information about his use of a carbon monoxide rebreather, which the team had already confirmed to Escape Collective last week.
The process is not banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, and Pogačar's UAE Team Emirates squad – like Visma-Lease a Bike and Israel Premier Tech – stated that they had availed of a carbon monoxide rebreather to measure the effects of altitude training on their riders.
After initially professing no knowledge of the equipment, Pogačar confirmed on Wednesday that he had used a carbon monoxide rebreather on one occasion. On Thursday, he was asked about his view on availing of grey areas in sports science to improve performance.
"I think you should avoid grey areas by far. I think a grey area is also caffeine and these kinds of things," Pogačar said. "I think it's best for everybody to avoid these kinds of things, and just go with what the doctors recommend, you know, what is good for your health, follow those guidelines.
"You always need to educate yourself a bit about these kinds of things and think about your health and what's good for you and what's not."
