The Tour de France’s gravel stage to Troyes on day 9 of the race might have led to a stalemate on the prime of the overall classification, nevertheless it wasn’t for lack of making an attempt by a number of yellow jersey contenders.
Race chief Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) tried a number of main assaults on the gravel sectors on the Côte de Chacenay and Saint-Parres-aux-Tertres, although each have been introduced again, as would the transfer initiated by Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quickstep) at 77km from the end.
The Belgian, going clear on the Côte de Chacenay, was shortly joined by Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard. However, the assault failed after the Danish double Tour champion refused to collaborate.
Pogačar’s try on sector 4 at Verrières noticed Vingegaard and Visma-Lease A Bike teammate Matteo Jorgenson get on Pogačar’s wheel as Evenepoel was left behind. However, that transfer would additionally fail because of their unwillingness to assist it alongside.
Evenepoel had some chopping phrases for the Dutch workforce after the stage, suggesting that Vingegaard was racing too defensively on the stage. He did observe, nonetheless, that he understood why the workforce had employed these ways.
“I feel Tadej and I weren’t proud of it as a result of perhaps the entire Tour might have been determined at the moment,” Evenepoel mentioned after the rostrum ceremony following one other day spent within the white jersey of finest younger rider.
“We have to just accept race ways and race conditions, however generally you additionally want the balls to race, and sadly perhaps Jonas did not have them at the moment. But it is no drawback – the race continues to be very lengthy, and I completely settle for the explanation why he did not pull, why he did not race.
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“Of course, Tadej and I each prefer to assault fairly far-off from the end, so we needed to proceed. Jonas is typically a bit extra defensive, however we have now to just accept it. He may have all the nice causes to have raced like this, so I additionally fully perceive why.”
Evenepoel famous that Visma-Lease A Bike had earlier placed on a quick tempo, main him to make the primary main acceleration among the many race’s prime contenders. He went clear on the uphill gravel run of the Chacenay earlier than Pogačar and Vingegaard got here throughout the hole.
The trio, gained half a minute on the peloton earlier than the transfer fell aside. Evenepoel accepted the state of affairs, even when it led to an finally irritating final result.
“I knew that it was one of many final exhausting sections on the gravel and I simply needed to go for it,” Evenepoel mentioned. “It was like a cross-tailwind so a really quick sector. In the tip, when you see the hole that we had, we had immediately 30-40 seconds after that sector.
“So, like I mentioned, if we got here to the entrance group and we’d take turns all collectively, I feel the race might have been determined there. But like additionally they mentioned, it is race conditions and race ways, and we have now to just accept that.”
Aside from the shortage of assist supplied by Visma-Lease A Bike, the opposite main incidents in Evenepoel’s day on the bike noticed him caught behind the assaults on two events.
The first got here on sector 8 at Mangnant, the place Evenepoel mentioned he was caught behind a handful of riders who missed a nook and wanted to tug a foot out of the pedals earlier than battling again to place.
The second got here at Verrières, the place he was caught out of place as Pogačar took the Visma males with him up entrance. On that event, Evenepoel was lucky that the Dutch squad employed such timid ways.
“Actually, I advised my teammates to convey me to the primary 5 positions, however they did not so I wasn’t actually proud of that,” Evenepoel mentioned. “Then I needed to shut the hole myself as a result of really I needed to go myself on this sector and that is one thing that we have now to know.
“Sometimes we have now to be extra aggressive and particularly in a race like at the moment, you simply have to put the elbows out and struggle. Luckily, I had the legs to shut the hole.
“OK, the Visma guys did not pull Tadej, however I’ve to confess that the motos have been using actually shut in entrance it was a headwind, so that they actually pulled them away. Sometimes perhaps the race organisation has to have a look at that.
“But I’ve no regrets – I feel that, ultimately, it has been an excellent race for us. It’s the remaining day and we’re in second spot in GC, half a minute behind, with a stage win. An ideal first week for us.”
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